Only You
by LouBear21
Summary: It was just chicken pox - until it wasn't and Owen was fighting for his life. They were just friends - until he dropped everything to be there for her and she began to admit to herself that maybe they were something more. Will/Natalie. RATING CHANGE TO "M" FOR CHAPTER 11.
1. Chapter 1

**As a massive Manstead fan I've been wanted to try my hand at writing fanfiction for a while now. So here it is - my very first attempt. If you're reading I hope you enjoy, feedback is very much welcomed and reviews are craved. Let me know your thoughts. I don't have a medical background so the diagnostics/stats won't be accurate.  
Everything belongs to Dick Wolf & NBC.  
**

Natalie crouched beside the sofa, pushing Owen's sweat drenched hair from his face. He was finally sleeping just in time for her to head off to work. He was covered head to toe in angry red spots and had spent the night sobbing in discomfort and locked in a fierce battle of wills with Natalie who was steadfastly refusing to let him scratch his pox marked skin. He'd passed out around 4am which had allowed his mom a brief nap but she was exhausted and tempted to call in sick to stay with him. His temperature was hovering around one hundred but she was loathe to wake him up for baby Tylenol and leave her mother in law to deal with the screaming that she was sure would ensue if she did. She would let him sleep, at least he wasn't in pain when he was sleeping.

Yet she still didn't want to leave him. "Helen –"

"Go to work, Natalie." Helen cut her off. "He has the chicken pox – when he wakes up I'll give him some Tylenol and he'll have a nice bath in camomile. He'll be right as rain by the time you're home."

"But what if –" She stopped, seeing the older woman's raised eyebrows.

"You know, seeing the worst outcomes is good for a doctor but it seriously hinders you as a parent. You need to relax. Every kid gets chicken pox, it's part of growing up." She crossed the room to hand her her bag and place a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Owen will be fine. I'll call you if we need anything."

Pressing a kiss to her baby's forehead, Natalie stood, slinging her bag onto her shoulder. "I'll call on my lunch break. The baby Tylenol is under the sink, the camomile is in the fridge." She grabbed her keys from the sideboard and turned to look back at her son one more time. "I'll have my phone on me all day. Call me if anything changes."

She closed the door as gently as she could, unable to shake the guilt that had settled in her stomach.

**CM**

"Oh god I'm a terrible mother, aren't I?" Natalie lamented, hands clenched around her mug of coffee.

"Absolutely not." Maggie glared at her from the door of the doctor's lounge. "You're doing what plenty of mother's do on a day to day basis. That does not make you a bad person or a bad mother. Owen is perfectly fine." She glanced out at the ER which was starting to fill. "Drink up, we're gonna need you out here."

The door swung shut and Natalie drained her coffee, stood and stretched. This was going to be a long shift.

**CM**

"Guy in 3 needs a head CT, pretty sure it's just concussion but I want to rule out a bleed."

It had been three hours and she had heard nothing from Helen, which was half reassuring and half worrying. She hadn't even texted to say he'd woken up. Work was taking her mind off it but every now and again she was hit by a wave of panic and she had to steel herself against calling home and checking up on them every half an hour. She trusted Helen. She had to otherwise leaving Owen every time she went to work would be impossible.

"Hey there Dr Handsome." Halfway through handing over the patient file to Maggie, a sickeningly sweet voice cut through her thoughts. She looked over the see Dr Shore drape herself over Will, who was scrolling through patient notes on his tablet. She watched, stomach working itself into knots as Will tilted his face up to kiss her. Like her day wasn't going badly enough.

"No problem Dr Manning – any word from Helen?" Maggie brought her back to her senses.

"Uh, no – nothing." She sighed, running a hand through her already messy braid, loosening it even more. "I'll call in an hour, check up on him. I'm worried his fever is still persisting and about him scratching." She checked her phone despite knowing she would just be faced with Owen's bright little face.

"Everything okay?" Will had extricated himself from Nina and was standing by her elbow, his girlfriend hovering behind him. Natalie glanced briefly at the other doctor before giving her friend a strained smile and nodding.

"Owen has chicken pox."

"Poor little guy – he keep you up?"

"Yeah, he's so uncomfortable and feverish. He didn't sleep till 4 this morning. Helen's looking after him though."

Will reached out and arm and gripped her shoulder. "Little man is champ. He'll be just fine and I'm sure Helen is taking great –"

He was interrupted by the whooshing of the automatic doors opening.

"Owen Manning, 14 months, suspected encephalitis stemming from chicken pox infection. Started fitting at home and again en route, now under control with Versed. Fever was one-oh-five no one-oh-three with antipyretics, pulse 150, BP 110/70, resps 50 – intubated following the seizure, he's not supporting his own airway."

It was like the everything was moving in slow motion. Natalie was rooted to the spot. Will had sprung into action, taking over Owen's care, Maggie not far behind. She could hear him barking orders, watched as they worked on her son. She felt Helen take her hand, heard the older woman's sobbing and pleading with her to forgive her. She had thought he was okay. She couldn't move. She couldn't speak. She could barely think.

Owen. Owen. _Owen_.

**CM**

They had finally managed to stabilise him. He was ventilated and under sedation. He was hooked up to saline drip to keep him hydrated, antivirals for the encephalitis a lumbar puncture had confirmed, fever meds and anti-epileptics to prevent any further seizures. Someone had ordered an MRI which had shown swelling in his brain and spinal cord, there were concerns over damage but wanted to let the anti-inflammatories do their job before reassessing.

"I'm so sorry baby." Nat whispered, stroking the boy's hair from his face like she had done earlier in the day. "I should never have left you." She began to sob, pressing her forehead to her sons. "Owen, oh Owen, please be okay baby. I need you to pull through this. Mommy needs you…" Her chest began to tighten until she could no longer speak.

She had sent Helen home to sleep hours before and although she had barely slept the night before she couldn't tear herself away for a moment – even just to sit in the arm chair at her son's bedside and close her eyes. She couldn't hold him but she wanted to be close to him. To hold his hand, make sure her baby knew she was right beside him. That she was never going to leave him again. Maggie and April had both dropped by several times to check in on her and Connor and Ethan had both stuck their heads around the door to offer their help should she need anything. She hadn't seen Will since he had signed Owen over to the intensive care team. He had told her he would be up as soon as he could – but that had been hours ago.

She had never felt more alone. It was crushing, overwhelming and before she knew it she was overcome with sobbing, leaning against the metal crib, clutching her baby's tiny hand.

**CM**

Cursing to himself, Will Halstead took the stairs to the paediatric intensive care three at a time. It had taken him longer than he had planned to get back to them.

He'd had to finish off his shift for a start. They were already a doctor down and they couldn't afford to lose him on such short notice as well. He hadn't even bothered grabbing his coat when it was over, just grabbed his keys and sprinted off. He'd gone home and packed a change of clothes, he'd beat Nina back so he left a note explaining where he was before charging off again. He'd gotten the key to Natalie's from Helen, offering to grab some necessities and bring them to her, knowing she would never leave Owen's side. On a normal day, rifling through anyone's drawers to find clean underwear would have made him uncomfortable and going through Nat's would have been downright awkward to explain to his girlfriend but all he could think about was getting back to the woman and her son. Thinking of the latter he grabbed some clean pyjamas and some soft joggers and tshirts that Nat had folded and left on top of the dryer. He grabbed a tiny anorak and hat on the way out the door and had to fight the last of rush hour traffic to get back to the hospital.

But now he was here. He stumbled through the doors to PICU, looking around to find Natalie.

He had never seen her look so broken. She was bent over the hospital cot, wracked with sobs, her breathing gasped and ragged. She looked up as he opened the door.

"I'm so sorry I didn't come sooner."

She shook her head and sniffed. "I-it's o-o-okay. I u-understand. I j-just don't know what to d-do." And then she was sobbing again, arms wrapped around herself. "M-my baby. I should n-never have l-left him."

Will dumped the bags he had brought to the floor and crossed the room to pulled her into his arms. She buried her head in his shoulder and sobbed harder. "Nat. Natalie this isn't your fault. You could never have called this. You did everything right." He pressed his lips to her hair before grabbing her shoulders and pushing her back to look in her eyes. "You are a good doctor and a fantastic mother. None of this is your fault." He hugged her tightly again. "He's going to be okay, he's going to be just fine."

They stood like that, holding onto each other for what seemed like forever. Natalie clutching at Will's scrubs, head buried into his neck and him pressing his face to her hair, whispering reassurances to her, his arms holding her tight.

Eventually, Natalie pulled back, wiping at her eyes in an attempt at composure. She even attempted a smile. "Thanks Will, I really appreciate you coming back." He kept a hand on her arm.

"I hope you don't mind but I swung by your place to pick up a change of clothes for you and a couple things for Owen." He grinned, making his away over to the pile of bags and opening the larger of the two. "I even remembered this." He pulled out a raggedy, chewed looking lion toy. "This has really been through the wringer. Might want to get a new one."

Natalie grinned despite herself. "Are you kidding? You know as well as I do he barely sleeps without it." She reached for the toy and placed in in the bottom corner of the crib, beside Owen's feet. "You really didn't have to do that."

"I know, but I wanted to." He nodded to the arm chair behind. "You should sit down before you pass out, you look like you haven't slept in days." Natalie rolled her eyes but did as she was bid anyway, realising she was still close enough to reach through the bars and stroke Owen's little hand. "I'm gonna grab something to eat and a coffee and come straight back. You need anything?"

"I'm fine."

"I'll bring you a sandwich." He silenced her protest before it even begun. "I'll be right back."

True to is word he was gone less than ten minutes – bringing back sandwiches, coffee and a selection of chocolate bars and chips.

"I didn't know what you would want." He smiled, choosing a packet of salt and vinegar before flopping into the chair on the other side of the crib. "Besides, we could be here for a while, the more rations we have the less time we have to spend away from Owen sourcing more."

Natalie smiled and raised her eyebrows. "We?"

"Of course – you didn't think I would let you face this alone did you?"

She bit her tongue. She would hardly have blamed him. She had hurt him in the past and now he had Nina to think about. She would have understood if he had kept his visits to popping his head in between shifts. But she couldn't help the swell of her heart in her chest at his words. _We might be here a while_.

Perhaps she wasn't quite as alone as she had imagined.

 **Thoughts? Should I keep going? Let me know!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Totally bowled over by the response to this! Thanks for all your comments and follows, I really appreciate it. I'm not as happy with this chapter as I was with the first but in the interests of finishing the story at some stage I have admitted defeat!  
Hopefully it lives up to you expectations! Thanks for reading!**

Owen had been in intensive care for almost two days. They'd taken out his ventilator but he remained hooked up to countless drips and machines. He was still covered in (now crusted over) red spots and, despite signs the infection was clearing, he was still very sick.

They weren't sure if the seizures had caused brain damage and they couldn't be until the swelling of his brain and spinal cord had been given time to ease. Natalie wasn't sure if he would wake up the same little boy that she had left the other morning. The one who was only just managing to find his mouth with a spoon; the one who smiled at her every morning over the bars of his crib where he waited to be picked up and smothered with kisses; the little boy who just weeks ago took his first shaky steps across the living room floor into her waiting arms. She could barely look at him without wanting to cry, she just sat by his side, holding his hand and stroking the soft, dark hair on his head.

"You can hold him, y'know."

She glanced up. Will was sitting on the other side of Owen. He hadn't left their sides longer than it took to run to the cafeteria for coffee and food. His was the reassuring hand she felt on her back her when the paediatricians came in on their rounds and they had to step away to let her son be examined. His were the arms that held her in relief when they took the breathing tube out and Owen breathed from himself. Just like the hours before her son was born, Will Halstead was her rock.

She smiled weakly. "I know, I just –"

"You won't hurt him Nat." Will stepped around the bed to stand beside her. "Let me." With gentle hands on her shoulders he guided her down into the armchair that had been doubling as her bed the past two nights. She watched as he gently, and careful of the many tubes and wires criss-crossing the baby, scooped Owen into his arms and passed him over. "There we go." He smiled, adjusting a blanket over the pair of them. "Better?"

Looking up, she offered him a real smile. She had never gone so long without feeling her baby in her arms since he was born and the relief she felt at the warm weight of him, the feel of his breath against her chest was unbelievable. "Thank you." He grinned back and moved to crouch beside them. He reached out and ran a gentle hand across the baby's head, pressed a gentle kiss to the crown. Natalie felt her chest tighten at the sight. "Will -" She trailed off, unable to articulate what she needed him to know, tears threatening again.

"Hey, don't cry. It's okay, he's gonna be okay." He reached up to brush a lone tear from her cheek. "I know it."

"I just –" She sucked in a breath. "I don't know how I would have coped without you these past few days." She stroked her son's cheek absently, not wanting to look at Will. "You have no idea how much it means to me, to not have to do this alone."

"You never have to be alone, Nat." Will raised himself up so they were level with one another. "I've told you before – there are few people I care about more. You and Owen mean so much to me, Natalie. I will always be here for you and that applies to more than just during a crisis like this. You know that if you ever need me, for anything, I'll be there." He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Her heart clenched. "Thank you. Thank you so much." She looked away, deliberating, before meeting his gaze again. "It makes such a difference …never mind, it's just, nice to have you here."

"No, don't be stupid, you can tell me anything."

Natalie stood so abruptly Will had to jump backwards. She placed Owen gently back down and gripped the crib bars, unwilling to face him for what she had to say next. "I thought that I had done the bulk of my grieving for Jeff before Owen was born, but that wasn't true. I think that being pregnant, having a pregnancy to focus on, distracted me. It wasn't until Owen was born and I had him home, alone, without Helen, that I really felt his absence." She looked up nervously. "When he was crying incessantly, when he was fussy or unwell I missed Jeff, I wanted him there to help me. To be with his son. And then I went back to work – back to you, and something changed. Instead of wishing Jeff was there, I wished that you were there with me. Helping me with Owen – and not just when it was particularly hard. When he was sitting, smiling, crawling. I wanted to share that with someone – I wanted to share it with you." She gave a shaky sigh and turned, leaning against the crib with folded arms. "It scared me Will, that I could feel so much for someone who wasn't Jeff –he hadn't been dead even a year and I was falling for someone else. Falling for you. And then you kissed me and you made it so real, not just something that existed just in my head. You wanted me as much as I wanted you and that scared me, I panicked. I should never have pushed you away." She could see the shock in his eyes, see him floundering for words. "I'm not telling you this to hurt you. I'm not telling you this because you're with Nina now because I don't want to screw this up for you. You deserve to be happy – it's all I want for you. I'm telling you because you deserve to know." She held his gaze. "You deserve to know that there's few people I care about more than you too."

Will's heart was thudding against his chest. Wordlessly, he moved forwards, reaching for her and tugging her close. She melted against him, head tucked under his chin, his arms wrapped tightly around her. He breathed her in, eyes squeezed shut.

"Natalie –"

"Dr Manning? Dr Halstead?" The jumped apart like they'd been scalded. A fourth year med student stood in the doorway. "It's time for rounds, Dr Kennedy needs the room, he's going to take your son for some scans."

"Of course." Natalie nodded. She turned to Will, already halfway across the room. "I'll get us breakfast."

He sighed and ran a hand over his face before moving to follow her down to the cafeteria.

"Will?" _Oh fantastic._

"Heeeeey Nina." I plastered a smile on his face as he turned to face his girlfriend. "How's it going?"

'Was about to ask you the same question, handsome, you haven't been home the past two nights and we've barely spoken." Despite her upbeat tone and bright smile Will knew she was testing him.

"I'm sorry babe, Owen has been pretty sick and Nat's been a mess." He sighed, cupping her cheeks in his hands. "I just didn't want her to be alone."

Nina glanced away. "I get it. You wanted to there for your friend." She stood on tips toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. "I love that about you, y'know. How good a friend you are." She smiled. "Have breakfast with me?"

"Natalie just went to get us something." He could see the disappointment flicker briefly on her face. "But we should have dinner tonight."

"Dinner it is." She grinned and kissed him again before glancing across to where Owen was being wheeled off to MRI. "Have a good day."

"You too."

He turned on his heel and returned to Owen's empty room. Throwing himself into Natalie's vacated chair he ran his hands through his hair, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

" _There are very few people I care more about, too."_

What was he going to do?

**CM**

"Sorry I took so long." Natalie was out of breath. She'd rushed not wanting to be away from Owen any longer than necessary but he still wasn't back. Will caught the panic on her face.

"An emergency came in, they've only just got him in the scanner – he's fine."

She let her breath go and smiled. "Oh, okay, good." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and handed him a coffee. "I was feeling brave and decided to venture outside for food. I thought we could do with something a bit better than what the canteen had to offer." She held up to Styrofoam boxes. "Nutella French toast or Belgian waffles with chocolate sauce?"

"Uuum, I'll take the waffles. I know better than to deny you Nutella." He grinned, Nat just shook her head at him and handed him the waffles before sitting down. "Thanks."

"Look, Will – I really think you should go home tonight." He looked up, confused. "Not that I don't want you here, because I do. I just think that maybe you should spend some time with Nina." She didn't want to tell him that she had narrowly avoided gate-crashing a conversation between Nina and a pathology resident whose name she couldn't remember.

" _Am I expected to believe there's nothing going on? Dr Manning's son falls ill and he drops everything to be there –like she doesn't have a mother in law or any other friends who can help her out. He's insisting it has to be him. He even went to her apartment for god sakes …."_

She would not be responsible for Will's relationship falling apart, especially when Nina seemed to make him so happy. Even though she knew that she would never have coped without him at her side, she could understand Nina's concerns. He knew her well enough to be able to get both her and her son clean clothes from her apartment and had refused to leave her side. That was more than Maggie or April had done – but was it because Will had gotten there first or because they knew Will would want to be the one who did those things for her?

Will washed down a mouthful of waffles with a swig of coffee. "You shouldn't be worrying about Nina and I. I actually planned to take her to dinner tonight – I'll come back after."

"Will –"

"Nat-"

"Dr Manning?" Dr Kennedy, Owen's doctor, had appeared in the door. "We're just bringing you son back down from his scan – I was wondering if we could have a quick chat about his results?"

"Of course," seeing the doctor slide a look towards Will she added, "Whatever you have to say you can say in front of Will."

The greying medic nodded his head. "Well, I'm glad to say that I've brought good news today. The swelling of Owen's brain and spinal cord has gone down and from his scans we can see no obvious signs of damage from the seizures. He's kept his temperature down and he's been supporting his own breathing for 24 hours now. So, if it's alright with yourself I'd like permission to take him off the sedation as soon as possible."

"He's going to be okay?" Relief flooded through her.

"It certainly looks that way. By the end of the day we aim to have him on saline only." Natalie stood to shake the medic's hand. "With any luck you'll have your son home in a couple of days."

Natalie couldn't stop grinning. Before she could stop herself she as hugging Will again. "I can't believe it." Will wrapped his arms tight around her without hesitation. "My baby's going to be okay."

"I told you – I told you he would be fine." Will was grinning too and she could swear he had tears pooling behind his eyes to match hers. "You named him well Nat, he's a real little fighter."

"Thank you for everything Will – really."

"Anytime." He grabbed her hand and squeezed before going back to his breakfast. "You'll let me stay until he wakes up?"

"Of course – hopefully he'll be awake in time for you to still make dinner." She looked across the room to meet his eyes. "You're going to dinner – no arguments."

"Yes, mam." He chuckled and Nat could only shake her head.

They waited for Owen to return in comfortable silence, eating breakfast side by side.

 **Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts in the reviews!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'd just like to give a massive thank you to everyone who reviewed the last two chapters and to everyone who subscribed. It makes me happy to think that people are enjoying my writing. This part took longer for me to post because I struggled to get it into a state which I was happy but I have made the decision to just post it and get it out there. The next couple of chapters will move on from Owen's role in bringing Natalie and Will "together" and focus more on the consequences of Natalie's honesty about her feelings for Will and the consequences of Owen's illness on Will and Nina's relationship. From the very beginning I've liked Nina and I honestly think she's been good for Will. She's levelled him out and he has certainly matured throughout season 2 to the point where I think he's better for Natalie (and Owen) than he was in season 1 - and I also think Jeff was good for Natalie, he helped her make the first steps to moving on from her husband romantically. He also got her into a much better place emotionally and both she and Will are in better positions to start a relationship. What I'm trying to say is I want to do Nina justice and I don't want Will to just throw her away because Natalie is suddenly available because she deserves better than that.**

 **So I hope you guys enjoy this chapter (despite the creative license with pre-pilot Natalie/Will friendship) - please, please let me know what you think.  
**

The next couple of hours passed painfully slowly. Natalie was preoccupied with watching her son intently for any signs of returning consciousness and Will was glad for her distraction. Mainly because he was having issues with keeping his eyes off her.

It was like he was back to square one again, back to the latter weeks of her pregnancy with Owen, when looking at her, even just catching sight of her brought on a rush of emotions. He loved her. He knew that. He'd known it for a long time. He loved her enough to let her go when she wasn't ready, to let her find her feet again even though it wasn't with him. He loved her despite the jealousy he felt whenever he seen Clarke anywhere near her. Her loved her despite the fact he had Nina, had moved in with Nina, loved Nina.

Nina was good for him. She brought a little sunshine into his world, a cheerfulness and brightness he wouldn't have believed possible from someone who spent their entire day surrounded by the dead. She was quirky and funny and beautiful. She didn't come with close to _half_ the baggage that Nat did. She had never been married, had no children, no major personal responsibilities other than her work. In many ways, Nina was the antithesis to Natalie, who was still processing the loss of her husband and trying to strike a balance between being a doctor and being a single parent. Nina was free, uncomplicated. Their relationship was easy; they'd not even had any hint of a problem. Up until recently.

Her questions about his past with Natalie was the first indication that perhaps he wasn't quite as good at masking his feelings quite as well as he imagined. Sure, they'd moved on from their awkward kiss and their petty arguments but that didn't mean his feelings for her had diminished. It just wasn't something he could turn off on demand. Nina took his mind off Natalie, distracted him from how he felt and he did love her, just not like he loved Natalie. He loved Nina for what she gave him, the light she brought to his life, the happiness and, yes distraction, that she provided.

The way he felt about Natalie was completely different. She had been his friend since the minute he took up his post at Med. She was easy for him to get along with, she made him laugh, she was the first _real_ friend he had had in a long time, Jay excepted. Natalie had been there while he worked through the initial antagonism his brother had towards him about his inability to deal with their mother's illness and subsequent death, both at the time and in the present. She had been understanding of his refusal to return to a situation that, despite every ounce of medical training he had, he couldn't improve. There was nothing he could do to help her, the last thing he wanted to do was see the woman who had raised him and supported him his entire life waste away before him. So he stayed away – and Natalie was the first to say she understood his decision. The first to understand why he did it and the only person who seemed to be able to help him navigate through the guilt he felt.

Then, suddenly, Jeff was dead and their friendship was turned on its head. He was the supportive one while Natalie struggled to comprehend the loss she had suffered. Will was the person she had gone to when she had found out she was pregnant. While Helen and Maggie had accompanied her to OBGYN appointments and scans, Will was the one providing the bulk of the emotional support, making sure she was doing as well as could be expected.

He couldn't pin point exactly where the "hair pulling" as he had phrased it to Natalie had started. All he knew is that when he realised the depth of his feelings he had tried to push her away, keep her at arm's length and hope that it was enough to dampen his affection for her. But it didn't and he kept finding himself apologising, sticking bars of chocolate in her coat pocket for her to find after an argument, helping her with bags, offering her to drive her to hospital when she went into labour. And then the push and pull became too much for her and she snapped, he kissed her and his feelings were out there for Natalie to see.

 _I'm just not in that space yet._

Was she in that space now? It felt like that had been what she was trying to say but he wasn't sure if she was saying it because she truly felt the same way for him as he did for her, or because she believed his relationship with Nina to be so strong that it was safe to tell him and for nothing to come of it. All he knew was that it had brought his feelings flooding back again. He couldn't look at her without smiling like an idiot. She _cared_ for him. It gave him hope – hope he probably shouldn't be clinging to like he was.

Think about Nina, he told himself. Think about what this will do to her. She opened her life and her home to you. What will it do to her if she finds out her boyfriend loves another woman, has always loved another woman? He highly doubted she would enjoy discovering that she had been constantly competing with someone else in her boyfriend's head. He didn't imagine that would be a pleasant conversation. And anyway, he had tried really hard to _not_ think about Natalie when he was with Nina. He loved Nina and she was good for him. So where did that leave him?

He was watching the clock tick towards one thirty when Natalie leapt up from her seat. Bent over the crib she began stroking Owen's head, running her knuckles along his cheek.

"Hey, sleepy boy, are you going to open your eyes for mommy?"

Will sat upright, peering over for a better look. "Is he awake?"

Natalie's face was alight with a grin. "I think so." The little boy let out a small gurgle, as if in agreement, and the pair of doctors watched as he tilted his head into his mother's hand. "Oh little man, you gave me such a fright." Will's heart swelled as he watched her interact with the little boy coming to in his crib.

"I'll go let Kennedy know, I'll be right back."

**CM**

By 4pm, Owen was wide awake, albeit slightly cranky. Helen had returned, crying and apologising again and again to Natalie who could do nothing else but smile with relief and happiness. As the room began to fill, first with Maggie and April and then Ethan, swiftly followed by Connor, Will had excused himself to go home and change for dinner. As he left Natalie nodded in approval and he promised to check in later.

As he turned for a final look as he waited for the elevator all he could see was Natalie, holding her son to her chest, beaming widely. She was flanked by Maggie and Helen; Connor was reviewing the boy's chart nodding his head in agreement as he did so and he could hear Ethan and April debating the best way to make sure the spots healed without leaving scarring. Most importantly, he wasn't leaving her alone.

He was home, showered and half-dressed before Nina called.

"Hey handsome – you home?"

"Yeah I was about to call you, are you leaving straight from work?" They had intended go to Nina's favourite Chinese place a few blocks from the hospital and agreed on seven thirty to meet.

"Look, I hate to do this but I've been running into hold ups all day and this autopsy needs to be finished by close of play tonight - can we do dinner at Ming's tomorrow instead?"

He willed himself to sound disappointed. "Don't worry about it babe, tomorrow is fine."

"You're not mad?"

"Why would I be mad? It's just the job." He sighed. "Just a shame really, I look pretty hot tonight." Deflecting with humour, that ought to do it.

Nina laughed on the other end of the line. "You always look hot Dr Halstead, I'll catch up with you later okay? Love you."

"Yeah, you too. Bye Nina."

He threw his phone down onto the bed in front of him. In lieu of the shirt he'd picked for dinner he twinned his jeans with a white tee and pulled an old, thick navy zip up from its hanger. He promised himself he would be back by midnight. He even left a note.

 _Hey babe,_

 _Owen finally woke up, going back to the PICU to check on him. I'll be back around midnight. Love Will x_

**CM**

When he got back Owen's room had emptied, leaving only Natalie sitting with her son. He was sitting up in the crib, the bars down so Natalie could sit beside him. She was reading him a story and he was dressed in his own dinosaur patterned pyjamas, drinking water from a sippy cup. The little guy looked a million times better than he had that morning.

To his surprise, and delight, Owen saw him first. His heart almost burst at the spark of recognition in his dark eyes and the bright smile that split his face. Owen let out a delighted giggled and stretched out of Natalie's grip.

"Hey Owen," Will grinned. Owen waved a chubby fist, straining from his mother's arms.

"I think someone's happy to see you." Natalie adjusted her grip on her son. "I didn't think I would be seeing you tonight." There was almost admonishment in her tone.

"Nina cancelled on me." Will replied with a shrug, sitting himself on the cot across from Nat. He nodded at Owen. "May I?" Seemingly satisfied with his answer, Natalie passed Owen into Will's arms. The boy let out a second happy laugh and reached for Will's bright hair, giving it a tug. "Thanks for that, bud. Y'know I should be mad at you for giving your mommy such a scare." He adjusted his hold so that Owen was now sat on his lap, blinking up at him curiously. "But you're just too darned cute to be annoyed at."

"He and I have already had that chat." Natalie smiled. Taking the opportunity while Owen was occupied with Will, she cleared away some of the toys he'd managed to play with and the book they had been reading. "I expected him to be a lot more cranky but apart from drowsiness he seems really good. Managed to bath him without a fuss and he's just about ready to down for the night."

"That's good – he been drinking himself?"

"Yeah, he's drank a cup and a half of water since he woke up and he's passing fluids so just a couple more boxes to tick and we should be out of here." She reached out and Will handed Owen, who had started to cuddle in against his chest, back over to be cradled in her arms. "In the meantime, I think you need a nap little dude."

Owen seemed to agree and, with Will watching quietly, it wasn't long till he had dropped back off to sleep. Natalie got him settled under his blanket and allowed Will to adjust the crib bars back into place. "He looks so much more comfortable now." Will observed in a whisper.

"I'm just glad the worst is over. It's so good to have him awake again. He was cranky to start with and he had a good cry which drove Connor and Ethan out of the room but the bath settled him and he seems to be getting back to his cheerful self, slowly but surely." She took a deep breath. "I know we're not home yet, he's still at risk of seizures and there could be some deficits with his memory, impairments in his motor skills – but he seems okay, y'know? I know it's only been hours but-"

"I am positive he's going to be fine." He was grinning like an idiot and his hand was on her arm again. _Stop touching her god dammit._ "I couldn't be happier for you Nat, and proud too. You've been so strong through all of this." She reached up and grabbed his hand with her own, squeezing it tight.

"Couldn't have done it without you Will." She grazed her thumb gently over the top of his hand. "You've been such a rock." He could only joke in response.

"Well, at least is time I had a better idea of what was expected of me!"

**CM**

She had waited till 2am before she realised he wasn't coming home.

Snatching her keys up she barrelled out of the apartment and drove back to the hospital, probably breaking multiple traffic laws in her frustration. Admittedly she was more annoyed with herself for even believing him because if the past few days had been anything to go by nothing came before Natalie and Owen. Not himself or his job – evidenced by the emergency holidays he'd taken – or their relationship, given that he hadn't come home and clearly hadn't spared her a second thought given the radio silence she had endured. She should have _known_ this was going to happen.

Well, not necessarily Natalie Manning's infant son contracting a potentially life threatening virus and spending several days comatose – but proof that there was _something_ between Dr Manning and her boyfriend.

She truly wished she was above office gossip but it got to her, particularly as she wasn't even meant to hear it. She had accidentally eavesdropped on her resident Joey discussing her and Will with Dr Reese (the girl who had thrown a residency in her face months before).

 _He totally had a thing for Dr Manning though,_ she had head Sarah say, _and I reckon she has a thing for him – she just doesn't know how to deal with it because she probably feels like it's being disloyal to her husband._

 _Isn't she seeing that new guy Clarke, though?_

 _I doubt it will last – he was her husbands best friend. It's more likely she's rebounded with him because he knew Jeff and he's familiar. Dating Dr Halstead would be like, completely moving on from Jeff to someone new and unconnected. That's probably terrifying for her._

 _What's terrifying is how you psychoanalyse everyone and everything these days. Sometimes, it scares me how suited to psychiatry you are …._

It had been enough to make her ask Will, especially given the obvious closeness between the two and the clear interest and attention he paid to her – things she had witnessed first-hand. His denial had been enough then, but not now.

PICU was deserted but for a two nurses on checks and a third watching monitors at the nurses station. She was ready to charge in and break up whatever conversation her boyfriend and Dr Manning were having that was so riveting he was over two hours late getting home, blood pounding in her ears. But they weren't having a conversation at all.

Natalie was curled in a chair beneath a hospital blanket, fast asleep. From the crib, a whimper broke the heavy silence. Owen started to cry.

Nina's heart thudded to a stop – they were going to see her.

Will, who was slumped over on the other side of Owen's bed, suddenly sprung up, suddenly wide awake.

"Hey, hey, shh bud, don't wake your mommy." He leant down and carefully picked the baby up, cradling him in his arms. He rocked him gently, talking quietly into dark curls and stroking a thumb gently across the baby's cheek. She watched as her boyfriend leaned down to kiss Owen's forehead, almost reverently. She seen the wide, open smile on his face as he gazed down at the boy, could make out adoration in his eyes that she had never seen before. The baby let out another cry, but this time, it was devoid of any real distress. "See, it's okay," he tilted Owen up slightly, "she's right there, she's still here."

Nina watched, frozen in place as her boyfriend wrapped Owen in his blanket and sat back down with the boy still held in his arms. To any random stranger it would have looked like a father taking care of his son while the baby's mother slept on the other side of the room, letting is partner sleep while he cared for their sick child. It looked so natural.

She was about to turn away, to just go home and deal with the mess she seemed to have found herself in tomorrow, when Will began to sing. His voice was soft and quiet but she could just make out the words from where she was stood.

 _You are my sunshine, my only sunshine_

 _You make me happy, when skies are grey._

 _You'll never know dear, how much I love you._

 _Please don't take, my sunshine away._

He sung the whole song through, twice over, before the boy fell back asleep.

Nina left before the second chorus.

She drove home. She was quiet, contemplative. Slowly, a plan was forming.

Later, as she lay in bed she sent the message he wouldn't read until morning.

 _We need to talk x_

 **Hope it was worth the wait - let me know what you guys think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello again! Sorry about the delay on this chapter, I've spent the past 10 days in bed, a hospital bed as well as my own. I've been pretty unwell - hence the absence of updates.  
Thank you so much for all the reviews, follows and alerts you've all put on this story. I appreciate each and every one of you taking the time to read this.  
This chapter was written in about an hour, I was struggling with it before I got sick and I've written several versions before and not been happy with them. Anyway, this is an important part of the story which moves the plot in the right direction. I'm not 100% happy with it and I do not doubt that it riddled with spelling and grammar mistakes.  
Regardless - I hope you all enjoy this chapter - please feedback in reviews, they give me life. **

Natalie startled awake at the screech of monitors across the hall. Watching the PICU staff pile into the other room, she felt herself relax. _Owen is going to be okay._

Except he wasn't in the cot.

She leapt up, about to call out in a panic but was stopped by the sight on the other side of the room.

Will was slumped in his chair asleep, his head practically on his shoulder, cradling her son in his arms. Owen was wrapped in his blanket, his head burrowed onto Will's chest, with one tiny hand pressed to Will's neck. They looked so peaceful and the whole thing seemed so natural that it stopped her breath. He seemed so comfortable with Owen in his arms, and Owen, who had never been soothed in the night by anyone other than Nat or Helen, seemed more than content to sleep in Will's arms.

The alarm on her phone began to sound – alerting her to the fact it was six am, almost time for rounds. She fumbled in her pockets desperately trying to silence the noise before it woke Owen and Will. Glancing up, she smiled as Will's eyes cracked open.

"Last I remember, you were heading home last night."

He offered her a tired smile. "Must have fell asleep." I adjusted himself into an upright position, careful not to jostle the boy in his arms. "Then this little guy woke up. I was going to settle him and then make a move but, I guess we were so comfortable we both fell back asleep."

"Uh huh." Natalie grinned. "I appreciate it – even with an armchair for a bed I managed to get a decent sleep last night."

"That makes one of us." He teased. Owen began to stir in his arms. "Morning kiddo." Will pressed an absentminded kiss to the boy's hair and Natalie felt her chest constrict. "How are we this morning? We good?" Owen met Will's gaze and smiled sleepily as Natalie crossed to the room to greet her son.

"Hey little man." The sound of his mother's voice had him twisting in Will's arms, straining towards Natalie, who willingly scooped him up. "Did you have a good sleep?" She nuzzled into his hair. "Thanks for being so good for Will last night and letting mommy sleep. I love you so much." She lay him in his crib and set about changing his diaper.

Will stood, stretching out his arms which, now devoid of Owen were beginning to cramp up. He knew he should check his phone – but he was worried about many missed calls and messages he would have from Nina.

Nina.

All he felt when he thought of her was overwhelming guilt. He had been thrilled when she had cancelled their date last night. Ever since leaving Owen's side he had found himself wishing he was back with Natalie and her son. He almost wished Natalie would call and ask for him to return but he knew she wouldn't. He hoped that she was only pretending to be happy that he had moved on – especially given their conversation across the crib.

 _I don't want to screw this up for you._

But what if he was doing that all by himself? He would have to talk to Nina sooner or later, and not doubt it wouldn't end well. The woman wasn't stupid. Suppressing a sigh, he reached in his back pocket for his phone.

 _We need to talk x_

Shit. She knew. Well, she knew something was up. He cursed himself for not being a better liar when Nina had first brought up the topic of him and Nat. He regretted not communicating better with her while he had remained at Natalie's side, all the opportunities to call or text her to let her know what was going on and he had taken none of them.

He felt panic bubbling inside of him. He was going to end up homeless. Shit.

 _Well done Halstead you tool._

He fired back a text asking if his girlfriend was free for breakfast and looked up to find Natalie staring at him.

"You okay?"

He gulped. "Uh, yeah." She didn't look convinced but the buzzing of his phone prevented her from probing further. He sighed in relief. "I just – I need to meet Nina for breakfast. I'll see you later yeah?"

Now she just looked down right confused. "Yeah of course. Enjoy yourself."

Without looking back, he left the ward. Leaving Natalie cradling her son and wondering what the hell had just happened.

**CM**

Nina was waiting for him in the hospital cafeteria, twirling her ID badge in her hands. He crossed the room almost tentatively and sat across from her, in front of the coffee she had brought for him.

"I hope you don't mind but I ordered for you – it's just, my shift starts soon."

"Yeah, yeah of course." He cleared his throat. "Is, uh, everything okay Nina?"

"You tell me." She looked so upset. "You said you were coming home last night. I have barely seen you in four days. I drove here at 2am to give you a piece of mind and found you singing your friend's baby lullabies." She was almost crying. "Look, I'm not immune to hospital gossip. I had heard rumours about something between you and Natalie before we started dating." She looked down at her coffee cup and let out a near hysterical laugh. "So, I guess when you asked me out I was flattered – you decide to move on from chasing Dr Manning and of all the women in Chicago you ask _me_ out. I thought you were ready to move on Will but you're not are you?" He didn't answer, he couldn't even look at her. "I won't be a consolation prize."

His eyes snapped up from the ground. "A consolation prize?" He shook his head. "Nina, no. I don't want you to think that – it's not true. I would never use you like that. You know that don't you? You know that l love you."

Her silence terrified him. She was clearly gathering herself to say something important. "But not as much as you love her." She was crying freely now and he couldn't even bring himself to reach a hand – that hand that had so often found itself reaching for Nat – to comfort her. She ploughed on. "You're not ready to move on Will. You never were, and you never will be. Not while you're still in love with Natalie."

"Nina –"

"Will don't, its okay." She wiped her eyes. "Really, it's fine." He couldn't bring himself to fight her.

"Look, I'll, uh, I'll be out of the apartment before your shift ends." He tightened his grip on the coffee cup in his hand. "I am so sorry Nina." He was almost in tears himself. "I never, ever set out to hurt you."

"I know." She attempted a weak smile. "You can stay in the spare room until you find somewhere else –"

"No, no it's fine. You don't need to deal with me any longer – I've not been fair to you. I'll crash at Jay's for a bit." He stood. His hand finally seemed to be functioning again and he reached out to squeeze her shoulder. "I really am sorry Nina."

He was out the cafeteria and barrelling from the hospital before he realised they had never even made it to eating.

**CM**

"You realise you're an idiot, right?"

Jay was stood in the doorway of his and Erin's spare bedroom, sipping a beer and looking a little too smug.

"Yes, thank you little brother, I am very aware."

"I mean, I was a bit worried about you and Nina moving so fast but –"

"Jay, I really don't need the "I told you so" speech from you right now." It was after eight in the evening. A mercy phone call to his brother had seen Jay leave work mid-shift to help clear his stuff from Nina's and move him into the spare room. Will groaned and rubbed a hand over his face. "I do not doubt I'll get it from Erin sooner or later."

Jay chuckled. "She's definitely not impressed with you." Another groan. "But she loves you and she's just worried about you." Jay coughed awkwardly. "We both are, y'know."

That was Will's cue to talk. "Look don't be. I'm fine." Jay raised his eyebrows. "Well, I'm not fine but – look why are we doing this? I'm not emotionally unstable or need to talk it through. I moved onto Nina before I was properly over Natalie and it's come back to bite me in the ass." He sighed. "I doubt I'll ever be over her." He sighed again. "That's all I'm willing to say right now."

For the second time that day, his phone buzzed, providing the distraction he needed. It was Natalie.

 _Owen cleared all his cognitive and motor assessments. Kennedy happy to release him into my care tomorrow. Sorry we didn't see you today – x_

Despite the mess he was currently in, Will found himself smiling.

"I'll leave you too it." Jay conceded defeat and moved to leave his brother to his thoughts. "Oh, by the way, if you want a shower in the morning you'll need to beat Erin to it or she'll use all the water." He shot Will a grin which, to his delight, the red headed man returned. "May the odds be ever in your favour."

Alone at last, and despite every fibre of his being willing him not to, all he could think about was Natalie.

 **Thanks for reading! Hope it measured up to you expectations - let me know in the reviews!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! Thanks for all the new follows, alerts and reviews! I am feeling so much better (finally!) but I'm currently in the middle of my finals at the moment, hence the delay in an update! Took a day away from studying today and got this chapter written up!**

 **Thanks so much for sticking with me - I hope you enjoy this chapter! Feedback is always appreciated x**

He didn't go back to the hospital that night – but he wished he had. He wanted to go back there, to tell Natalie that Nina had broken up with him, tell her he loved her. But he knew that would be a bad idea.

Because just like last time, Natalie wasn't ready.

The conversation in which she had basically told him that she regretted letting him go, that she wished that they were together, had occurred over the top of her comatose son. Owen had been so sick which had made her vulnerable and the fact that he had been there to support her through it had made her cling to him and tell him things, confess her feelings, in a way that she might never have done had her son not fallen ill.

Plus, was he able to jump from one relationship straight into another? He loved Nina and he wouldn't deny it. Their relationship had been good for him; he'd grown and matured and realised that he could be happy without Natalie – but he had also realised that he didn't want to be. As easy as his relationship with Nina was – childfree and with minimum responsibilities – he missed the connection he had with Natalie. There was an ease to their conversations which his relationship with Nina lacked, their silences tended to be uncomfortable and their conversations stilted. They never could talk or communicate very well but they were close in other ways. Physical ways. Their attraction had burned hot but all too soon it had burnt out. He and Natalie were already close, they communicated well, they laughed and they had fun working together. They had a connection which couldn't be denied – and he owed Nina a great deal in bringing him to the realisation that not only did he want Natalie in his life, but that a relationship built on solely on desire (and dire financial situations) could not survive very long. What he and Natalie had, surely a relationship built on that could last?

But then Natalie had a son. There was more to consider than just what he and Natalie wanted, and even though Owen seemed to like him, was he ready to take on another man's child? Granted, Jeffrey Manning was dead and that removed several of the more common complications of helping raise another's child, but that also meant that should he and Nat work out, he may be the only father Owen ever knew. And that terrified him. He didn't know that he had the ability to be a father never mind be a good one. His own dad had always been tough on he and Jay, always kept them at arms-length and rarely, if ever, showed any affection. How could he be any different when he had never been shown how? The last thing he wanted for Owen was a resentful relationship with his step-father in an already complicated situation – and that was before he had even factored in Helen and the violent mood swings he'd had to deal with from her when the boy was born. Did he really want to take on the complications of Natalie's life and make them his own?

The short answer was yes – which was what he had told Erin when she had levelled these questions at him when she had returned, slightly tipsy and very angry at him, from her evening at Kim's. She had looked at him dubiously, clearly concerned for his frame of mind.

"Look Will, the spare room is yours as long as you need it." Erin had held her hands up in defeat. "Just don't rush into anything right now. You're five minutes out of an intense relationship and Natalie almost lost her son. You're both in difficult positions – take a breather."

Will sighed and sipped his beer. _Take a breather._

**CM**

Something was going on. She knew it from the way he was anxiously glancing at his cell phone every few seconds until it vibrated with a message. She knew something was wrong from the way he shot out of the room so fast his feet barely touched the floor and with barely a look back – and from the radio silence she had experienced for the rest of the day.

She had half expected him to stroll back into the room and apologise for the quick exit, a grin on his face – but one hour had turned to several and there had been no sign of him.

 _He's having breakfast with his girlfriend Natalie, it's allowed._

She stamped down the jealousy bubbling in her chest. She had missed her chance and he had moved on – she only had herself to blame, and she did blame herself. Particularly for her little outburst the other day.

 _There are few people I care more about too._

What the hell had she be thinking? Will was with Nina. He had chosen to move on. He quite obviously didn't feel the same way and was more than content with the friendship they had. What had made her tell him that? She would have been as well spelling out "I love Will Halstead" in neon lights and lighting it up in his face. She was so stupid – and worried about the potential consequences. What if it had caused problems between Will and Nina? What if he did feel the same way? Would he want to be with her and all that that entailed?

"Good afternoon my loves!"

Natalie startled as Maggie strolled into the room. "Hey Maggie." She plastered a smile on her face and stood up, accepting the hug her friend was offering.

"I hear my favourite little guy is doing well?" The older woman reached into the crib to stroke the sleeping baby's cheek.

"Yeah, he's still really tired from all the medications and the infection but he's doing okay. They assessed his motor skills this morning and they seemed quite happy. He's a little off balance on his feet but that should sort itself out as he gets back to normal." Natalie sighed and ran a hand through her hair, sitting back down. "I'm hopeful that we'll get out of here tomorrow morning."

"That's real good – but , we should move on to the real reason I came up here." She sat on the arm of the chair Natalie was sat in. "How are _you_ doing?"

"I'm okay, terrified he's going to have another seizure, but I'm getting there. He's going to be okay." She fought back tears. "I thought I was going to lose him."

Maggie wrapped an arm around her. "But you didn't. He's just fine. Your boy is doing great and, like you said, you'll probably be home this time tomorrow!" She grinned wickedly. "Aaaa-nd, we know that a certain red headed attending still adores you."

"Maggie, don't. Will has a girlfriend, a girlfriend who he _lives_ with." She sighed. "We're just friends, that's all. Just really good friends."

"Nat, I have seen the way that man looks at you, and I have seen the way you look at him." She raised a finger to shush the younger woman. "Friends do not look at each other like that, not even good friends."

"Will is with Nina –"

"But he clearly cares for you." Maggie interjected. "Are you going to tell me you don't care for him?"

"You know that I do but I had my chance."

"You'd just lost your husband and had just given birth, you weren't ready." Maggie was the only person she had told about what had happened between them in the break room. "It was unfair of him to think you would be ready to move on, it hadn't even been a year. What matters is you're ready _now_."

"It doesn't really though because he's moved on." Natalie sighed. "And I wont be a home wrecker. Will and Nina have a good thing going and I won't destroy that."

"Who said anything about getting in between them? Shouldn't you at least give Will the benefit of being able to choose?"

Before Natalie could explain that she had already been too honest about her feelings with Will, Owen was stirring and Maggie's beeper was ringing shrilly.

"Big pile up on the freeway – they need me downstairs." She moved to leave as Natalie bent to scoop up her son. "Just, think about what I said."

She rolled her eyes as her friend left. _How was she meant to think about anything else?_

**CM**

Natalie stopped looking up at the sound of footsteps in search of Will at around two in the afternoon. Instead she focused on playing with Owen in between his naps and organising their things in the hope that a discharge was on the horizon.

As she packed the things away, she contemplated calling Will, to ask where he was, to see if he was coming back but she stopped herself. She had a terrible feeling that something had happened between him and Nina and she felt responsible. She had reminded Will of the feelings he had had for her before and it had driven, very rapidly, a wedge between him and Nina. The woman who had helped him after she had let him down, who opened her home to him when he was struggling to pay rent and malpractice insurance at the same time. But she didn't know that there w _ere_ any issues between Will and his girlfriend. For all she knew they were spending the day together doing, well, doing _couple-y_ things. That's what she reassured herself with. Will and Nina were fine. Everything was perfectly fine.

When the student doctor came back to inform them that Dr Kennedy had signed Owen off for morning discharge she finally relented and texted Will.

 _Owen cleared all his cognitive and motor assessments. Kennedy happy to release him into my care tomorrow. Sorry we didn't see you today – x_

Was she guilt tripping him? Damn it. It was sent anyway. She didn't even know if he was going to respond.

Ten minutes later, her phone buzzed in her pocket.

 _Great! So glad for both of you – I'm an early shift tomorrow, hopefully see you on your way out_ _x_

The relief that flooded her from a simple text back was unbelievable and she was grinning despite her previous worries.

 _Looking forward to it, hope you had a good day – x_

**CM**

Alone with his thoughts and beer following Erin's lecture, Will looked back at the last text from Natalie and weighed up, for the millionth time, telling her everything. Sighing, he lay back against his pillows and ran a hand over his face.

 _Today was okay, missed you, cant wait to see you – x_

He stared at the message for a few minutes, thumb hovering over the send button, but he didn't send it.

Alone and annoyed at his cowardice, he shut off his phone and the light and attempted to sleep.

 **Can I just say, to round off this chapter, how much Will and Nat in "Deliver Us" almost killed me? You are not just good friends god damn it.**

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter - please, please, please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks so much for the new follows and reviews guys - and thanks again for the continued reading. I appreciate each and every follow, alert and review, they encourage me to keep this going. You guys are the best.  
When I first started writing this I didn't imagine things would play out the way I've written them but I think it makes sense and is (almost) believable but I'd like input when you guys are done reading, are you enjoying it?  
Thanks for reading and enjoy the season finale on Thursday night, here's hoping Manstead rise - but incase they don't, here is chapter 6! **

By nine am Will had already dealt with an alcohol poisoning, heart attack, broken hip, a chest infection and several runny noses. He'd left Jay's before either Erin or his brother had even woken up, choosing to shower and grab breakfast once at Med. He'd even been a half hour early for his shift and had started seeing people almost at once, determined to get on with his day and distract himself from the mess his personal life was currently in. Neither did he want to get into a conversation with Maggie who was excitedly catching April up on Owen and trying to catch his eye over the shoulder of the younger nurse.

He was studiously avoiding her, occupying himself with work while he kept an eye out for any sign of Natalie and Owen on their way home.

She didn't appear until after ten and by that time he was beginning to think she'd gone straight home without dropping in, or that in his bid to avoid Maggie he had missed her. When he saw her step from the lift, Owen on her hip, he couldn't help the smile that broke across his face – and when she seen him, grinning over at her, he could have sworn her whole face lit up.

 _Dude it's just the lighting._

"There they are!" Maggie was on top of her in a heartbeat, grabbing a hug and taking the chance to coo over Owen who was a different boy from the one who had been brought in just under a week ago. The nurse, who had taken a hold of the baby, looked back at Will over her shoulder and raised her eyes. "Get your butt over here Dr Halstead, and give Master Manning the attention he deserves!" Will shook his head and tossed his tablet to the side.

"Hey, you." Natalie smiled, as Maggie and April stepped back to let Will pull her into a quick hug.

"Bet you're glad to be getting out of here." He joked.

"You have no idea – I am _desperate_ for a night in my own bed."

"Here I was thinking you'd grown fond of the arm chair."

"I will _not_ miss that chair." Natalie laughed. They were both smiling and briefly met each other's gaze as Owen started to fuss. He was twisting around in Maggie's arms, turning his neck at the sound of the voices behind him.

"You looking for your momma, clingy boy?" Maggie asked, turning him to face forwards so he could see Natalie. "There she is, she hasn't gone anywhere." She tilted him towards Nat, expecting him to reach out, but instead of reaching for Natalie, he strained towards Will – who could barely conceal his excitement as he reached out to take the him from her.

"Hey buddy – how's it going?" Owen let out a delighted giggle as he settled in Will's arms. "You going home?" The boy curled a hand around the doctor's stethoscope before, rather unexpectedly, resting his head against Will's neck, and humming contentedly as he tugged on the instrument. "I see, you just wanted to wreck my stethoscope like you wrecked your mom's huh?" He laughed and pressed an absentminded kiss to the boy's head. Natalie could only stare happily at them, taken by how much of a natural Will was with him.

"What?!" Natalie hissed, as a look from Maggie brought her out of her daydream. "Will's good with him." She adjusted her grip on her bags before turning to Will. "We should probably be going, let you get back to work."

"At least let me walk you out?" He hoped to god he didn't sound like he was pleading. He cleared his throat, nodding at the two bags slung over her shoulder. "Looks like you could do with the extra hand anyway."

"Sure." She smiled. "I'll see you around Maggie – tell April I'll catch up with her later."

"Will do – call me if you need anything." She pulled the younger woman into another hug, whispering in her ear. "Although I think Dr Halstead has you covered."

"Bye Maggie." Natalie rolled her eyes, turning back to Will and her son who was perfectly content in her friend's arms. "Shall we?"

Maggie couldn't help shake her head as she watched the two doctors leave through the sliding doors. _What a pair._ She couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips.

Back at the nurse's station, she signalled for April, who was just leaving a cubicle, to come join her.

"You just missed Nat –"

But April raised a hand to silence her. "You will never guess what I just heard." She looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening in. "So, according to Ellen from pathology, Will and Nina broke up."

"What?!"

"He's out of the apartment by the sounds of things too, apparently he dropped his keys off this morning and it was _very_ awkward."

"No _way_ –"

**CM**

They walked across to staff parking in an amiable silence broken by Owen's excited squeals as he tugged and attempted to chew on Will's stethoscope. When they reached Nat's car, which hadn't moved since the day Owen had been brought in, she stowed her bags in the trunk and let Will strap her son into his seat.

"I'll see you around little man, yeah?" He gave the boy another peck on the forehead and replaced his stethoscope with a stuffed monkey before he could start to fuss again. "Be good for your mom, okay?" With a final ruffle of the boy's hair he shut the door and turned to face Natalie. "You ready?"

"All set." She smiled and paused, trying to work out what she wanted to say. "I really can't thank you enough, Will, for everything you've done these past few days. I honestly couldn't have gotten through it without you." Unbidden, a tear rolled down her cheek. Instinctively, Will reached out and brushed it away.

"You don't have to thank me, I'm here for you Nat. Always."

She reached out and grabbed his hand. "But I want to thank you. I just – y'know, why don't you come over for dinner tonight? Bring Nina. I really should be thanking her too – she's been so good about how much time you've spent with us this past week."

Will stiffened involuntarily. "Nat you don't –"

"I'm making pasta anyway and I always make enough that I'm eating leftovers for days. You'd be doing me a favour." _And I could really use the company_ , she almost added. "Let me do this for you?"

"Okay, okay I'll come over, and I'll say to Nina as well." _Why are you lying to her?_ "I get off at seven – I can be over around eight?"

"Excellent – Owen will be bathed and asleep so you should be able to eat without him demanding your attention." She looked thrilled, excited even. "See you at eight."

Before she could open the driver's door, he pulled her into a tight hug. "See you at eight."

**CM**

He knocked on the door to her apartment at exactly eight o'clock, rocking nervously back and forth on his feet.

She opened the door a bright smile on her face, looking absolutely radiant, in a dark green plaid shirt and jeans. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun, dark tendrils falling out to frame her face and he honestly didn't think he'd ever seen her look more beautiful.

"No Nina?" She asked, trying to sound disappointed, but she couldn't deny the swell in her chest when she'd seen him standing on his own. It had been so long since they'd just _talked_. The last time they'd shared a meal and talked just the two of them must have been when he had come over to hang the mobile above Owen's crib.

"She had to work late – but I did bring wine." He held up a bottle of their favourite red. "Is that compensation enough?"

"Definitely." She stepped aside and waved him in. "Please, join me."

He kicked his shoes off at the door, leaving them beside her own, before following her into the kitchen. He set the table while she finished dinner, animatedly filling her in on the shift he had worked that day. She loved it when he talked shop, he was just so passionate about his work that there was something extremely attractive about hearing him talk about it. She told him about the afternoon she had spent with Owen and Helen, with Thomas the Tank Engine playing constantly in the background while they played her son's favourite building block game – build it up and knock it down.

"I hope you're not expecting anything fancy tonight." Natalie joked as she dished out the meal she'd thrown together. "Because you're getting Mac n Cheese with bacon and way too many potato wedges for two people to eat."

"Well it's a good job I love both of those things." He grinned, holding up wine glasses he'd found in her cupboards. "Shall we break open the wine? Celebrate Owen getting home?"

"Brilliant idea."

"Now, you'll have to excuse me," Will said, placing the glasses of wine of the table and sliding into the seat across from her, "but I am starved and this smells amazing, so this will probably be the least civilised thing you have ever seen."

The sound of her laugh made his heart race as he tucked into the meal in front of him. He didn't know if it tasted so good because he was starving or if it was a home cooked meal by Natalie, but he was like a man starved and he devoured it and enjoyed the satisfied grin on her face as she watched him do it.

Two hours later, dishes abandoned, left overs boxed up for Will to take home (as per his request), they were sat on her couch, on their second bottle of wine, an empty tub of Ben and Jerry's with two spoons on the floor by their feet. They'd found a channel which was exclusively running old episodes of "Friends" and had put it on in the background, they'd talked about work, about Owen, she'd asked about Jay and he'd filled her in on how their recent drunken escapades while watching hockey. It was so easy, natural even, and Natalie loved the adult company free from the stresses work and her son being ill. The thought of which reminded her why she had invited Will over in the first place.

"I don't know how I'm ever going to thank you Will." She put a hand on his leg and squeezed. "Honestly, you've been by my side through everything these past two years, losing Jeff, having Owen, almost losing Owen, and I can never thank you enough. You're amazing, Will." She felt tears brimming, knew it was a product of alcohol and the emotions of the past few days taking their toll. Will took her hand in his, rubbing gently circles over the top with his hand.

"You don't have to thank me Natalie, it's just what friends do. They care for one another, they look out for one another."

Tears began falling down her cheeks once more. She couldn't look at him. "I should thank Nina too – she's been amazing, letting you be there for me and Owen." She took a shuddering breath. "I kn-n-now a lot of women wouldn't be so good about it."

"Natalie –"

"Especially given how much I care about you." The dam was burst. Well and truly. All the emotions she'd tried so hard to keep from him were tumbling out. "Because I do care about you Will. A lot. More than friends are meant to care about you – and that's got to be threatening, particularly given how close we were to start with. And I'm sorry if that's caused problems with you and Nina, and I'm sorry if I hurt you in the past." She wiped her eyes with her free hand, frustrated by her tears. "I'm sorry I hurt you before, I'm sorry I wasn't ready – but there's nothing I regret more than letting you go." She squeezed the hand that was holding hers. "Nina's a lucky girl Will."

"She dumped me." He tightened his grip on Natalie's hand. "Nina dumped me - I moved out last night. I'm staying at Jay's."

Natalie sat in stunned silence, while Will stared at her, desperate for a reaction. "But I thought you guys were happy. I thought it was going to work out for you."

 _Why does she sound so upset?_

"Why?" Natalie demanded, almost angrily. "Why did she end it? What happened?"

"There was someone else."

"She cheated on you?!" Now she was furious.

"No! God no, neither of us cheated but, there is someone else– and as much as I love Nina, there's someone else I love more. Nina worked it out and, that was it, it wouldn't have been fair to string her along any longer."

"You?" Natalie pulled her hand away. "You're in love with someone else?" Will recognised fear in her eyes and reached out, pulling her back towards him before she had time to put her walls back up.

"You still don't know?" He swallowed hard, searching her eyes and catching a flicker of understanding. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, grazed a knuckle down her damp cheek.

" _Will._ " His name was a whisper on her lips.

This time, she kissed him.

 **Reviews give me life - please let me know how we found this chapter! PS - spoilers for future chapters but it slows down a little from here, I eel that for Manstead to be perfect it should not be rushed.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you so much for reading the last chapter and all the follows/favourites and reviews! How amazing was that finale though?  
** **A massive thanks for sticking with this, I hit a stumbling block with this chapter, I didn't know quite how to progress things in a way I was happy with but I've decided to post it anyway - please leave feedback in the review section and thanks again for sticking with me!**

Her lips were as soft as her remembered. Her hands were in his hair, his on her waist and dangerously at risk of wandering – yet he schooled himself, focused on the way the feel of her lips on his, how it felt to have her so close, after waiting so long.

But then it was opened mouthed and their tongues were battling for control. Out of nowhere she was straddling him and his hands had relocated firmly to her backside. Months and years of repressing their physical desire for each other had come to a halt and it was almost as though neither of them were willing, or able, to stop.

Until, a flushed and breathless Natalie pulled away, shifting back to balance her weight on his thighs. He was well aware he was grinning like a fool and he loved that she couldn't help but smile back.

"Is it terrible of me to say that I'm glad you broke up with Nina?" She laughed, not trace left of the tears from before.

He chuckled, raising a hand to cup her cheek. "Probably."

She ducked her cheek, pressing against his palm. "I really do want this, Will." She clutched at his free hand, squeezing it tight. "I really want you and I _really_ want us to work. And not just for me – for Owen too." She laughed softly. "He's very taken with you."

"And I with him." He felt as though there was a "but" coming.

"But for us to work, you need to be ready." Ah, there it was. "And I don't think that less than 48 hours out of your last relationship that you _are_ ready for another one."

"Natalie –"

"Just listen. You need to understand that the baggage I bring to a relationship is pretty substantial. You'd be taking on another man's son, you'd need to put up with my mother-in-law who, helpful as she tries to be, is a whole barrel of trouble. You'd need to be okay with not always being my main priority because sometimes my son needs to come first. I need to do what's best for him, I owe him that much."

"Natalie," he cupped her face in his hands. "Nat, I know all of this. I know what I would be getting myself into, you know that I think the world of Owen and I already know what Helen can be like. I appreciate how important they are to you." He brought her forehead to rest against his. "I know that it'll be complicated and messy – but I knew that it was going to be this way when you came to me and told me you were pregnant. I knew what I would be getting involved with and I fell in love with you anyway. I know what I want – and it's you and Owen and everything else."

Their lips meet again, in a brief, chaste kiss.

"Okay," Natalie breaths, "okay, but still. You need time to get yourself together again and I need time to get Owen back to normal. So, whatever this is, however this plays out, we do it slowly."

"Slowly." Will nods in agreement.

"I won't be back at work till next week at the earliest, but if you want to start slowly and just hang out together, me, you and my kid, then maybe you could join us at the park sometime?"

He's grinning ear-to-ear. "I'd love to."

**CM**

She doesn't extend an invitation to the park until the day before she's due to return to work. But she keeps in touch and they talk on the phone a lot.

It's almost like they're rebuilding the relationship they had before he disobeyed the DNR and kissed her and it all went south. They're talking about every day, normal things, there's no more tension or holding anything back. It's easy and effortless and by the time Owen is well enough for a day at the park she's desperate to see him again. She misses him – and she's come to realise how much she missed what they had when she had been with Jeff and he with Nina.

Luckily, it was his rest day and he meets them at the swing park that's only a short walk from her apartment. Although it's mid-April it's the first day that's felt like Spring all year, its bright and sunny and there's definitely some heat in the air, which makes all the difference from the frigid cold of a Chicago winter. It was so mild that she was fairly certain that once free from the confines of his stroller it wouldn't be long before Owen would try to shed his jacket and she would have a battle on her hands trying to keep it on him.

That being said, she would sooner have him healthy and throwing a tantrum than back in hospital again. It had been one of the scariest times of her life and she had honestly thought that she might lose him – but at least it was over now and they could move forwards.

Natalie sees his hair first because of the way it catches the light from the sun. He's squinting against the light, attempting to look for them and she can't help the warm, content feeling that's flooding her. The situation is far from ideal but she feels the closest to a "happily ever after" than she's ever felt.

With Jeff everything was so intense. When he was home they made the most of every second, but as soon as she was almost used to having him around he was shipped off again to some hell hole or other. There had never been a time where she had planned for the future with Jeff, they basically lived from deployment to deployment and although she adored him, she couldn't deny it was stressful. They'd talked about having kids in the future but Owen was far from planned. Instead, he was her reason to live in the aftermath of her husband's death, he gave her hope for a future that she had been convinced had died with Jeff in Afghanistan.

She imagined that life with Will would be a lot different. The biggest threat to his life was his mouth running away with him rather than bombs and enemy gunfire. He was a doctor too, so he knew the job – he wouldn't be fazed by long hours or making it home late, because he would be guilty of that as well. And despite the crazy hours, he would at least be home for more than weeks at a time. With Will, there was a chance of a stable, family life – the kind of life she'd dreamed about, the kind of life her son deserved. They could be a family that watched movies and ate junk food together, hung out at the park, took road trips and vacations without having to live with the constant fear of losing her husband. With Will, she stood a chance at having a life that was close to normal.

"Hey you." As Natalie and Owen drew level with him, Will stepped forwards to envelope her in a hug. "Good to see you."

"It's good to see you too." She grinned, returning his hug before crouching down to unstrap her son from his buggy. "Are you gonna say hi to Will, Owen?"

Owen struggled to push himself out of his seat, clutching tight to his mother's hand until his feet met the ground. He looked to Will and offered a smiled. "Hieeeee." He cooed, waving a hand up.

Will felt his chest tighten and he returned the little boy's smile, ruffling his hair. "So mommy tells me someone loves the swings?" Recognising one of his favourite words, Owen turned his head from Will to the swing set behind them and pointed to them with a squeal, before taking off towards them.

Natalie and Will followed, Will having taken over the pushchair. Natalie chuckled as Owen, squealed excitedly again. "We're working on the word _swings_. We've got _mama_ , _gamma_ , _hi_ and _bye_ down – oh, and _bit_."

Will laughed. "Bit?"

"My son's special way of asking me to share my food. He stretches out his hand and says _bit_ at increasing pitch and volume until I give him some of whatever I'm eating."

"Smart kid." Will grinned.

Catching up to the toddler, Natalie swung him up in her arms and into the swing. "The issue is trying to get him to eat his own food – he's been really fussy recently. I think he's teething again."

"Ah jeez," Will winced, leaning against the beam of the swing set and watching on as Natalie began to push Owen. "Kid just can't catch a break these days."

"Anyway, enough about my kid." Natalie shook her head, as Owen giggled in delight as the swing moved gently back and forth. "How are you getting on living at Jay and Erin's?"

"Eh, alright." He shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Erin keeps telling me I can stay as long as I need – I think she's worried I'm going to have some sort of breakdown – but, as bad as it sounds, staying with Nina actually gave me the time to get enough saved through overtime and selling my car to clear a chunk of the med school debt, so I'm really wanting to be out of there as soon as I can." He chuckled, attempting to lighten the mood. "I think I'm cramping my brother's style. Not that he'll say anything but I'm sure he's desperate to get rid of me."

Natalie smiled. "I doubt that. Y'know, I've always been kind of envious of the relationship you and Jay have."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, I was never really all that close to my older brother. He was eight when I was born so it was a bit too much of a gap – and by the time I finished elementary school he'd taken off to college. I always found my younger brother, Scott, to be excessively annoying and he was a bit of problem child growing up, constantly in trouble and that got really irritating." She shrugged. "I guess I'm closer to him than I am to Mark, but it's hard to keep it up when they're all still in Seattle and I'm here." She shrugged. "Seeing how well you and Jay get along sometimes makes me feel like I should make more of an effort – you guys really have something great."

"He's a pain in my ass most of the time but I probably wouldn't change him if I had the chance." He paused for a moment, watching mother and son, as Natalie pushed the swing and Owen laughed and kicked excitedly. "Do you ever think about it? Moving back to Seattle?" It was something he had worried about throughout her pregnancy and that played on his mind in the months following Owen's birth. Her entire family lived hundreds of miles away, why stay in Chicago when she could go home to the support of her parents and siblings?

"I used to think about it a lot. There were a couple times I felt like just taking Owen and leaving but I have a life here - a job, great friends, Helen. I couldn't just leave Helen, Owen and I are all she has." She looked up with a smile. "And I have you. I couldn't have gotten where I am without you. Besides, I've lived here for so long, Chicago feels more like home than Seattle does."

"From a purely selfish point of view, I'm glad to hear that." They shared a brief smile, as Owen, already bored of the swing, strained to get out.

This time, Will came to the boy's aid, he kept a hold of Owen's hand once his feet were firmly on the ground and found himself being dragged towards the slide. Nat followed with the stroller and was content to watch as her son dragged Will around the wooden pirate ship, laughed as her friend was forced down a slide in front of the toddler and felt her heart swell when he caught Owen at the bottom and swung him up into the air. She couldn't help the smile as she watched Will spin the boy around and around in his arms and heard their laughter fill the air. It felt good seeing them together and it looked so natural.

Will could have stayed in the park forever, running around after Owen, playing on the slides with him, chasing him around and around the pirate ship as the toddler shrieked in the delight – especially with Natalie joining in and the three of them were running in circles and sliding slides, at her son's encouraging shrieks of delight. By the time Owen was worn out and ready for a nap, Will was too but he couldn't remember the last time he felt this happy.

"Thank you for inviting me along Nat – I've had a really good time." He was holding Owen as they walked out of the park, the boy had his arms wrapped around his neck and was dozing on his shoulder.

"Me too." Nat smiled. "Owen seems to appreciate having someone else to play with aside from me. You're really good with him."

"Well, he's a great kid, he's the one who's good with me." He offered Natalie a smile of his own. "I really enjoy spending time with the two of you."

"Well, we should do it again."

"Definitely."

They're practically back at her apartment block and they're stalling, neither wanting to leave.

"Well, what shift are you tomorrow?"

"A day shift, 7-7."

"Well, if you're up for it – we could have dinner?" He sees a conflicted look cross her face. "Nothing fancy, I could bring take out over and we could put Owen to bed and watch a movie together?"

"Sounds good." She's holding back a smile. "I'm sorry we have to work around my kid."

Will shakes his head. "Don't be ridiculous, he's a part of your life and I'm more than okay with that." He adjusts his grip on the boy, now sound asleep in his arms. "On the same subject, I'll help you inside with him? Just so he doesn't wake up going back into the stroller."

"That would be amazing." Natalie agrees as she punches in the security code and the main door buzzes open. "The less we have to move him the better."

Will follows her through the door and across the hall. Mercifully her apartment is on the ground floor which means there's no need to haul a stroller and small child up a flight of stair or cram them into an elevator. As Nat expertly parks the buggy and slips her jacket off, Will adjusts Owen so that he's cradling him in his arms. "You want him in his crib?"

"Please." Natalie nods, following him through her apartment. She watches, holding her breath (partly in fear of the boy waking up cranky and partly in amazement), as her closest friend lays her son gently in his crib, carefully removing his shoes and jacket without disturbing him. She can't help but feel that there's just something very attractive about how good he is with her son. They leave the room silently, leaving the door slightly ajar, and wandering back into her living room.

"How'd I do?" Will jokes, hands in his pockets, turning to face his Natalie.

"Pretty well, Dr Halstead, I'm impressed." He looks nervous, like he's not sure of his next move.

"Well I'm an impressive guy."

She's standing very close to him, trailing a hand up his arm. "No arguments here."

The physical contact from her is all the reassurance he needs and he brings his head down and tilts hers up so that their lips can meet again.

It is devoid of the urgency of their last kiss. It's soft and slow, her hands clasped behind his head, his on her waist, holding her close. Warmth spreads through him, tingles shooting down his spine as her fingers toy with the hair at the nape of this neck. They're so lost in the feel of each other, she's letting him lead, not wanting to push too far, enjoying the feeling of his lips against hers, his hands trailing up and down her sides, fingers tracing patterns against the fabric of her top. He's careful to not let it go too far too soon but all the same, he doesn't hear the knock at her door and the creak as it opens any more than Natalie does. And he's certainly not prepared for the startled gasp as the visitor walks into the room.

"Oh!"

They jump apart like they've been scalded and Will can't help feeling like a teenager caught out by his girlfriend's mom as they meet the gaze of the woman standing in front of them.

Helen.

 **Let me know what you guys think! Hopefully the next chapter won't be too far away!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you so much for the reviews, follows and favourites from the last chapter. Each and every one is really appreciated. Sorry for the delayed update again, life has just gotten in the way but I will make every effort to get another chapter up in the next week. As always, reviews give me encouragement and inspiration so please let me know what you think!**

It had been a split-second decision to visit her daughter-in-law rather than giving her a quick call. Natalie was due back to work tomorrow and more than anything else Helen just wanted to see how she was coping. She knew that Nat was bound to be feeling a little guilty about going back to work and leaving him again, especially when her son had only been out of hospital a little over a week, but work would be good for her, and Helen wanted to reassure her that getting back to normal would be good for all of them.

The sooner the better ideally, so that Helen could stop reliving the moment Owen started seizing in front of her. Maybe she should have listened to Natalie and allowed her to stay at home, but then, he would have seized anyway, just with Natalie there. Would it really have changed anything?

So, with reassuring her daughter-in-law, in mind (and seeing her adorable grandson again), Helen decided to pay the pair a visit.

As she pulled into the parking lot of Natalie's apartment building and parked up beside Natalie's car she saw a young couple crossing the street. The woman was pushing an empty stroller and laughing at something her partner, who was carrying a sleeping toddler, had said. It looked so wonderful and Helen was in half a mind to stop them on her way in and tell them what a beautiful family they made, when the woman looked up and she recognised her as Natalie. A second look at the man next to her allowed her to identify the red-headed doctor she had met on the day Owen was born, and her chest tightened at the way Owen was sleeping comfortably in his arms.

 _That should have been Jeff._

She had known that Will had spent a lot of time with Natalie by Owen's side in the hospital and she was grateful because she would never have been able to cope with seeing her baby grandson so sick, but it should have been Jeff who was by Natalie's side, and Jeff who carried Owen home from family outings and Jeff who cared for his son when he was sick. She watched, clutching her steering wheel and fighting tears, as they went into the apartment building together, half hoping that Will would just put Owen back in the stroller and leave.

Ten minutes had passed, Will hadn't left, and Helen was beginning to feel a little bit ridiculous. Hadn't she encouraged Natalie to see more of Will in the hopes it would get her to stay in Chicago? Wasn't this what she had wanted?

 _Yes, for Natalie,_ a voice in her mind said, _but you didn't really think about where Owen fit in did you?_ She shook her head and steeled herself for action. _This is ridiculous. Go and see your grandson._

The walk up to the building seemed to take seconds and hours all at once. She tried to fight the nervousness she was feeling but it wouldn't budge. She keyed in the passcode for the security door and crossed the entry way to Natalie's door. As usual, she knocked twice before trying the door and, as usual when it was unlocked, let herself in. Knowing that Owen was asleep, she didn't call out and instead made her way to the living room, where she found Natalie.

And Will.

They clearly hadn't heard her knock. They were stood in the centre of the room, Natalie had her back to her, her arms wrapped around Will's neck and his hands toying with the hem Natalie's top, their lips were fused and the pair were completely oblivious to her watching them. Helen had no idea what to do, what to say, she was half tempted to leave and knock the door again, this time a little harder, to get their attention. Fumbling in her mind for an answer, she couldn't stop the delayed, shocked "oh" that escaped her.

Natalie whipped around in an instant, heat flooding her face, her heart thundering in her chest. Will's cheeks had flushed scarlet and he trained his eyes directly on his feet, unable to meet her gaze.

"Helen, I, I um, didn't realise you were coming over today." Natalie smoothed the fabric of her tee and nervously tucked her hair behind her ears. "We um, we're just back from the park, Owen's just taking a nap."

"We?" Helen was aware of how sharp she sounded by the way Will flinched slightly.

'"Yes," Natalie steeled herself for the judgement she was sure was coming her way, "Owen was a lot better today so I took him to the park and I invited Will along. I needed some adult company and Owen seems to be comfortable around him."

"I see," she pursed her lips. "Well, I really came round to see how Owen was and to check what the plan was for tomorrow. Are you wanting me to mind Owen here or -?"

"Here would be ideal." Natalie nodded. "Look, Owen's been out for a half hour, I'm going to wake him up soon or he won't sleep tonight so, why don't you stay for a cup of tea and I'll wake him up when we're done?"

She found herself nodding in agreement. "That would be lovely Nat, thank you." Her eyes wandered to the red headed doctor who had remained silent throughtout. Now, he cleared his throat and rubbed a hand on the back of his neck.

"I should probably go –"

"No." To each other's surprise Natalie and Helen spoke in unison.

"No Will," Natalie turned her head and reached an hand out to touch his arm. "You can stay." She wanted him to stay out of selfishness, to avoid having to talk to Helen about the possibility of moving on from Jeff. She'd never really broached the subject of Clarke, and while Helen (being her principal babysitter) had known she was dating, she had no idea who and neither had ever brought it up in discussion. For her part, Helen wanted Will to stay partly out of guilt at interrupting their afternoon and partly out of curiosity, so that she could see how they, whatever they had, worked. Helen could also see that it was making Will awkward, and more flustered than he had been outside the delivery room before Owen was born and it was giving her a perverse satisfaction – because a part of her was angry.

How dare this man stand where son once stood, in the apartment he once lived in? How dare he take Jeff's place by Nat's side, how dare he touch hold her the way Jeff used to, what right did he have to her grandson? The more uncomfortable he felt, the better, Helen thought, he deserved to be.

Will followed, with Helen closed behind, as Natalie moved to the kitchen and filled the kettle. His heart rate hadn't slowed any and he was becoming increasingly uneasy around the woman who had once made it very clear that she wanted him nowhere near Natalie and Owen. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and leant against the worktop. He could almost hear the sound of Erin's satisfied " _I warned you_ " that he was sure he would get when he filled his brother and his girlfriend in on today's happenings. He stood in silence as Natalie reminded Helen of the shifts she was doing over the next few days, when she needed her to take care of Owen and when the other sitter would be taking a turn. He could feel Helen's eyes boring into him but he couldn't look up because he knew what she was thinking. He knew that she was angry that he was here and her son wasn't, and he understood it. He just hoped that if everything worked out that this wouldn't persist until one of them died (or Helen killed him).

As they were about to sit down at the table, Owen's cries interrupted and Will felt a flood of relief. "I'll get him."

Natalie and Helen looked up and the same time with opposite expressions. Helen in confusion and Nat with a pleased smile. "Thanks Will." He was out of the room in milliseconds.

Nat sat across from Helen and slid her hands around her warm mug. "Look, I'm sorry you had to walk in on that."

"No, no I should have called out." Helen shook her head. "This is your home Natalie and you should be able to do as you please without worrying that someone's going to barge in on you." She was trying to be adult about it, she really was.

"I know, but this was Jeff's home too and I know that it's hard for you to see how much everything's changing." Natalie sighed. "I should have told you that I was meeting Will today."

"Has this been going on long then?" Helen asked gently, much to Natalie's surprise.

"Um, no. Will's just out of a pretty intense relationship just now so we're taking it slow, seeing where it goes."

"But you like him?" Helen probed. In all honesty, she had assumed it had been Will her daughter-in-law had been seeing when she had taken Owen overnight a few months back. Now she was wondering who Natalie had been with those nights.

"Yeah, I really do." She smiled. "And Owen seems to really like him too."

As if on cue, Will appeared in the doorway with the boy balanced on his hip. The little boy's brown curls were wild from sleep and he was rubbing his eyes as he rested his head, once again in the crook of Will's neck.

"Hello sweetheart," Helen cooed. She half hoped that, on seeing her, Owen would reach out for her or fuss to be out of Will's arms, but the boy offered her a tired smile and a quiet "gaga", before pressing deeper into Will's neck. She felt a stab of jealousy and tried to stamp it down by sipping her tea. _He's just tired._

"Hey buddy, don't you go back to sleep now," Will bounced the boy gently. "Nap time's over now." Owen giggled and burrowed again. Helen, watched, breath held as Will sat down at the table, sat Owen on his lap and started sipping his own tea, like it was the most natural thing in the world. And Owen, still coming to, seemed perfectly content to sit there, nestled against this man, who Helen still wanted to believe was a perfect stranger to him.

She could feel tears threatening as she pictured Jeff sitting in that chair, holding his little boy, fresh from a nap, still dozing ever so slightly, so she downed the rest of her tea and stood up.

"I'm going to go Natalie but I'll be back in the morning." She begrudgingly leant across Will to kiss her grandson goodbye. "I'll be here at six thirty."

"Helen -" Natalie started to say.

"Bye Nat. Goodbye Will."

And then she was gone.

"I have no idea what just happened there." Will breathed as the front door closed. "But I know that she hates me for sure now."

Natalie sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "She's still really struggling with losing Jeff but she'll come around." She reached out hand across the table towards Owen who had decided to wake up the second his grandmother was out the door. The toddler reached out to clutch at her fingers and she and Will shared a warm smile. "She'll come around. For Owen." Natalie looked up at him. "But if she's too much and you want out, then I understand."

Will reached out a hand, while his other arm secured Owen in place on his lap, and laid it over Natalie and Owen's tangled fingers. "Nat, as scary as she tries to be, Helen is not going to change my mind on this. I'm not going anywhere."

Natalie smiled brightly, unjoining their hands to clear the empty cups from the table. "Be careful their Halstead," she winked. "You're going to end up stuck with us."

Will just grinned back, hoping that she was right and knowing that nothing would make him happier.

 **Any thoughts? Let me know in the reviews!**


	9. Chapter 9

**High guys! I'm back again, hoping to try and keep on top of updating this as much as I can. Thank you so much for the follows and kind reviews – I appreciate each and every one. Let me know what you think of this latest chapter – enjoy!**

"So when you said she walked in on you –"

"The mother-in-law walked in on you?!"

Will cringed into his coffee, while Jay and Erin; who had breezed into the room mid-conversation, fresh from a shower and trailing water; silently argued about who was in charge of his interrogation.

"Jesus Will," Erin sighed, tucking her towel tighter under her arm and leaning against the breakfast bar. "I thought we all agreed you and Natalie would be taking it slow."

"Uh, since when were my relationships a team effort?"

"Since your terrible decisions through the course of your last one landed you back here?" Jay offered with a smirk.

"Whatever man, it's not like we were –"

"Woah!" Erin held up a hand. "I do _not_ need to know what you and Natalie were getting up to."

"They were just making out." Jay suppled, waving her down. "Sorta like a baptism of fire there, buddy. Surprised you're still standing."

"Yeah Helen wasn't impressed," he mused, sipping his coffee, cutting Erin off before she could speak, "which I understand and is why Nat and I are taking things a step at a time. There's a lot to work through."

"Look, can we talk this through later?" Erin was padding back towards her room, having taken a glance at the clock. "We're gonna be late for work."

"Well if someone didn't take twenty minute showers."

"Hey! We were out till 2am making the Walker arrest and I was disgusting –"

Sensing an opportunity to escape, Will stood and slung his bag over his shoulder. "See you guys."

"Hey, wait a sec," Jay turned back to his younger brother as Erin disappeared from the room. "You want me to keep you a plate tonight? Erin was talking about stir-fry."

"Nah, it's cool and, I'll be late back so, I'll probably see you tomorrow."

Jay shook his head with a smile as Will practically raced for the door. "Don't go staying out all night now!"

"Ma, ma, ma, ma." Owen gurgled contentedly from his high chair, eyes on Natalie as she organised her lunch. He'd slept till six, an improvement on the four am that he'd taken to waking at during his recovery, which had not only let Natalie sleep a little longer but also let her shower and dress before he was even awake.

"You want some grapes Owen?" Nat asked hearing the click of Helen's key in the lock.

"Bit! Bit!" Owen stretched his hands out towards the plastic bowl that Nat was holding out. She put the bowl of grapes, cut into quarters, in front of him as Helen bustled into the room.

"Sorry I'm late!" She huffed, placing her bags on the floor. Natalie had to bite her tongue at the site of brightly coloured plastic peeking out from a few – she had feeling Helen had forgotten the chat about Owen and new toys they'd had a month before.

Checking her watch as she gathered her things, Natalie shook her head. "It's only six twenty-five, I've got plenty of time." She pressed a kiss to her son's cheek and ruffled his hair, careful to avoid his grape-sticky hands. "I'll see you soon baby." She turned back to Helen. "Could you keep him awake for me tonight?"

"Of course." Helen smiled, "I'll let him sleep a half hour longer in the afternoon then?"

"Sure," Nat agreed, "and if you don't mind, I'll bath him?" She saw the questioning look on Helen's face again. "I feel bad for rushing back to work, I just want to spend some time with him."

"Totally fine Natalie." Helen smiled. "Look, I'm sorry about yesterday. I probably made Will feel terrible."

Natalie shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, I better go." She turned back to her son a final time, waving to him. "Bye Owen."

"Bye bye!" Owen waved back enthusiastically.

"Have a good day, Nat!" Helen offered.

Natalie returned her smile. "Don't have too much fun without me!"

She could see Will through the window into the doctor's lounge and felt her heart start to race. A smile broke across her head and she ducked her head, ready to open the door when she was suddenly accosted.

"Thank the Lord you are back!" April threw her arms around her friend. "Maggie has been driving me crazy – she's a two girl job I swear .."

"Excuse me?!" Maggie joked. "Good to see you Nat." She took her turn at hugging the doctor, playfully shoving April away.

"So how's the little man?" April asked. Nat had her hand curled around the handle to the lounge and she could feel Will's eyes on the back of her head, could imagine the amused smirk he had on his face.

"Yeah he's getting there, just about back to normal now – just have to get him into his routine again and it'll be as if nothing happened."

"One shift in here and it'll feel like it never happened," Maggie interjected. "Anyway, hurry up and get reunited with Dr Halstead already so I can have you both on the floor."

Nat felt her face flush. "I'll just dump my stuff and I'm all yours Maggie."

Maggie just raised her eyebrows. "You've got five minutes – April," there was a clatter from behind the closed curtains of cubicle 3, "please deal with our drunken friend."

"Enjoy." Nat laughed at April's disgusted expression and finally pushed open the door behind her.

"Good morning Dr Manning." His coy smirk transforms into a smile and she can't fight colour that floods her cheeks or the burning that's started in the pit of her stomach.

"Someone's chirpy today." She recovers quickly, opening her locker, keeping her eyes averted.

"Well, I've got a feeling today's going to be a good day." He's leaning against the lockers beside hers, grinning.

"Any particular reason?" She closes her locker, keeping her gaze away, a smile playing on her lips.

"Well I've got this date tonight."

"Really?" She hangs up her coat and slings her stethoscope around her neck before turning to face him. "Anyone I know?"

He's ghosting his hand up her arm, "Some paediatrics and emergency medicine resident."

"You say that like there are loads of people doing dual residencies in this hospital." She finally turned to look at him and felt her breath hitch. "Hey."

"Morning." He quickly raises his eyes to look out into the ED before pressing a kiss to her cheek and pulling her into a hug. "It is _so_ good to have you back on shift again."

"It's good to be back," she relaxes into the hug briefly before they pull apart, wary of watchful eyes. "is it really a date when it involves bathing and putting a one year old to bed?" She asks as they make their way towards the bustle of the emergency room.

Will shrugs, "I take what I can get."

"Hey!" She playfully slaps his shoulder. "I'll have you know my son and I are excellent company."

The red headed doctor just laughs and pinches her waist gently, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I'll see you around, Dr Manning."

It turned out to be a crazy day, they barely saw each other for more than five minutes at time and they didn't talk about anything other than patients. But there had been looks, and smiles and gentle brushes of hands as they passed each other and Natalie could only pray that they had been subtle enough. After all, she'd been looking at him this way for a while and no one had ever brought it up before.

"So, are you in the mood for anything in particular tonight?" Will asks, as he throws his stethoscope and ID badge haphazardly into his locker and stuffs his scrubs into his bag.

"Hmmm, I haven't had pizza in a while?" Natalie muses as she shrugs on her jacket.

"Sounds good – I'll dump my stuff back at Jay's and pick it up on my way over?"

She almost agrees before thinking better of herself. "There's no point in you going to Jay's and then having to double back to come over to mine, just come straight over?"

"Won't Helen –" Will starts awkwardly.

"If you and I are going to work out then Helen's going to have to get used to you being around." She squeezes his arm. "It'll be fine." She startles as Ethan throws the door open behind them. "See you soon."

"So," Natalie began, bouncing her son on her hip (he had been very excited to see her that night), "Will's coming over tonight." She watched her mother in law carefully for any sort of reaction but the woman just forced a smile and continued to gather her things.

"After you've put Owen to bed?"

"Actually, he should be here just now." Helen's resolve is faltering. "He's going to give me a hand putting boy down and then we're having dinner."

"I thought you said this thing with Dr Halstead was new."

 _Oh, Dr Halstead, that's how it's going to be._ "Look Helen, Will and I have been friends for a long time, I know him and I trust him to be around Owen. You're right, it is a brand-new relationship, but I need to be clear from the start that my son and I are a package deal. So far, Will seems to be pretty good on that front – he was the one who suggested that out first real date involve Owen. He really cares about us."

Helen sighed, fiddling with her handbag. "I know that. I can see that. I've known since you were in labour with Owen and you were asking for him." Her breath caught. "I'll never look at you and Owen and not wonder what things would be like if my Jeff were still here, but you have to move forwards. It's not good for any of us to live in the past like that – and as long as you're both happy and taken care of then," she sighed, "I suppose he'll grow on me eventually."

"I appreciate it." Natalie gave the older woman a hug. "I really do."

"I'll see you both in the morning."

"Night Helen."

Admittedly, he waited until he sees Helen left before venturing into Natalie's building. As determined as Nat seemed to be that Helen will just have to accept him he wasn't willing to push his luck for the second time in as many days. Hopefully, the way to winning Helen over would be proving how much he cared for Owen and Natalie – and that he could manage.

Natalie opened the door with Owen balanced on her hip. Side by side, Will was taken aback by how much the pair looked alike. The toddler had the same nose, cheekbones and jawline as Natalie and he didn't understand how he'd never seen it before. The only resemblance he bore to his father was his bright blue eyes, but those were even the same shape as Natalie's.

"We were about to start bath without you!" Natalie scolded gently. "Did you take the scenic route?"

"You could say that." He acquiesced. "Might have waited for Helen leaving."

"Oh Will, you don't have to do that."

"It'll be a continuous process of her getting used to me – I didn't want to push to far too soon."

"I told her you would be coming over tonight." Natalie informed him as she led Will into the bathroom. She turned and handed her son to Will. "Can you hold him while I start running the water."

The bath was filled with toys to keep the baby entertained while he bathed – ducks, buckets, water wheels, even a mini beach ball. Without prompting, Will sat on the floor with Owen and started to strip him down, ready to go as soon as Nat had the water ready.

"Hey Owen, can you take these off?" Will asked softly, tugging at the boy's socks. Owen shrieked in response and enthusiastically tugged them off before throwing his hands into the air. "Oh, does your t-shirt come off next?" Will chuckled tugging the stripy garment over his dark curls. "So, how did Helen take that?"

"She was a bit awkward about it." She admitted, smiling fondly at her son. "But I reminded her that we've been friends for a while, that you've always been good to me and Owen and that we deserve to be happy. She agreed with me."

"Well that's a step forwards." Will looked slightly relieved, he lay Owen down and eased off his sweat pants, before starting on the poppers of his baby grow. "I want you both to be happy Nat – I'd like to be the one who helps you get there."

"I'd like that too." Natalie quickly tests the temperature of the bathwater before turning back to Will who was now holding a diaper-clad Owen. "Oh, I hope you like being splashed."

"Y'know," Will says between mouthfuls of pizza, "I think there was more water on us and on the floor than in the tub by the end of that."

Owen was sound asleep, there was pizza wedged between them, and a rom-com playing quietly in the background.

"He gets really into bath time." Natalie laughed. "He loves the water; I'd really like to take him swimming some time."

"You've never taken him?"

"Swimming was never really my thing but Jeff was a swimmer at high school, he used to talk about wanting a kid to take to the pool on weekends and teach how to swim. It's just something I've never been able to face doing on my own." Natalie frowned. "Sorry, is this weird for you?"

"Not at all!' Will shook his head and moved the empty pizza box onto the floor, opening his arms for Natalie. "C'mere." He tucked her head under his chin and pressed a kiss into her hair. "Jeff was an important part of your life and I'm okay with that. More than okay." She burrowed closer into his chest. "When you're ready, we could take him swimming together?"

"You'd do that?"

"Of course I would. That way we would be appropriately dressed for the splashing your son is capable of."

Natalie laughed. "You just want to see me in a swim suit."

"Well it is a look I haven't seen before…"

"You're incorrigible." She shook her head, moving so she could face him. "I really appreciate how good you are with my son."

"It's no problem." Will grins, catching hold of her chin between finger and thumb and pressing a kiss to her lips. "I told you, I'm committed to this – baggage and all."

"I'm really glad." She kisses him back enthusiastically – and there they spend the rest of their night. Tangled on her couch, making out like a pair of teenagers, more than happy to ignore the movie that they had spent twenty minutes agreeing on.

 **R &R please! Let me know your thoughts! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you all so much for sticking with this! I have been so unbelievably busy the past few months – mainly because I decided to take myself back to uni to study for a Masters but ANYWAY. Here is the 10** **th** **chapter of this saga, I hope to be winding it up very soon and hopefully wont keep you too long between instalments as I've had the next chapter written since the beginning!**

 **Thank you for all your reviews, follows and favourites – and welcome to all my new readers! Please leave any feedback in the reviews, I love to hear what you think!**

 **Hope you guys enjoy it!**

It had been one of the roughest nightshifts in a long time.

For Natalie in particular it had been a difficult one. She'd lost a patient; and although she had long since accepted it as part of the job, it was especially tough when the patient was a two-year-old boy. He'd fallen and hit his head attempting to climb out of his crib – his parents had called 911 an hour later when his eyes began turning inwards but by then it was already too late. He crashed en route and, despite Nat managing to stabilise him, Dr Abrahms confirmed what she suspected – the little boy had a massive bleed to the brain and there was nothing more that could be done.

His parents had been beside themselves with grief and it was all Natalie could do to hold herself together. By the time 7am rolled around she was exhausted and overly emotional.

Will had been keeping a watchful eye on her through the shift, checking in as much as being her attending had allowed. He didn't want anyone to catch on to their newfound relationship and he also didn't want Nat thinking that he considered her so fragile she needed careful monitoring. He could see she was feeling vulnerable, especially given that she had been in those parents' position not all that long ago and he wanted nothing more than to comfort her – but that would overstep the bounds of the attending-resident relationship they were attempting to maintain within the four walls of Med, so he kept it to regular, professional check-ins.

He found her at the end of the shift, staring blankly into her locker.

"Tough night – huh?"

She turned to him, a forced smile on her face. "It's over now."

He stepped towards her opening his arms. "C'mere."

Natalie moved willingly into his arms, buried her face in his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist. "That could have been me –"

"But it wasn't. Nat, you can't keep thinking like that, you're okay, Owen is okay. Things are getting back to normal."

"I just, I don't know, it was just hard."

Will pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head. "I know Helen takes Owen while you're on nightshifts but why don't you go get him and have breakfast before you go to bed?"

"Hmmmm," Nat considered, moving backwards to close her locker. "I have one condition."

"Which is?"

"You come too."

**CM**

They'd gone together to collect Owen and Natalie was glad that Helen had handed the boy over with nothing more than an "I'll be over around twelve thirty" and no indication that she felt even remotely uncomfortable about Will going for breakfast with the pair. In fact, she even made a point of saying how good it was that she had the morning to herself, so she could run errands. Natalie couldn't help but feel relieved that it had gone so smoothly.

The diner they chose was quiet, filled mainly with older couples and clusters of mom's grabbing coffee post-school run. Natalie watched in amused silence as Will cut up Owen's pancakes for him and helped the boy dunk the pieces in syrup, getting both pairs of hands layered in the stuff in the process.

"So he's a messy eater as well as a messy bather?" Will joked, taking the baby wipe Natalie was offering to clean his hands once Owen was done.

"If a mess can be made then my boy's gonna make it." Nat rolled her eyes. "Isn't that right buddy?" The toddler giggled in response, excitedly kicking his legs and shrieking "Mamama!" delightedly.

Will laughed and took more wipes to clean the boy up, gently wiping his sticky hands and face. "You're a disaster kid." He joked, tickling Owen's face with the edges of the wipes, smilingly as the boy giggled uncontrollably.

Natalie couldn't help but find it incredibly attractive how good Will was with her son, and just how natural their interaction was. Owen had always been comfortable around Will, given how much he had come and gone in the first months of his life but the last few weeks they'd really gelled as a pair and it made her so happy that her son and her, well, _boyfriend_ , were getting so well.

Over the last few weeks they'd spent so much of their together.

One afternoon, a couple of days after they'd bathed her son together, Will met them at a soft play and they'd spent a good couple of hours chasing Owen around the brightly coloured structure, building towers with huge soft bricks and kicking them down and diving around the ball pit. To start with Will had been sat by Owen's stroller, minding their stuff and sipping coffee while Natalie helped Owen up and down the slides. But then Owen had caught sight of him again, and reminded that Will was there, raced excitedly across padded floor to their table and shouted his newest word.

 _Pay! Pay! Pay!_

"Play, huh?" Will had laughed.

Owen just tugged at his jeans and continued to demand. "Pay! Pay!"

"You gonna tell him no?" Nat smirked, eyebrow raised.

"No," Will scoffed. "I'm not that brave."

They ate lunch as an exhausted Owen napped in his stroller and made plans for Will to come over the next night, post shift for dinner.

On that occasion, he had insisted that he make dinner while she bathed Owen and put him to sleep. The next night she returned the favour, stealing regular glances into the living room where Will and Owen were sprawled across the floor surrounded by wooden puzzle pieces. Another night, after a particularly long shift, Helen had put Owen to bed for them so they made dinner together and lay around afterwards, wrapped up together on her couch watching bad sitcoms and cuddling.

They'd spent a lazy weekend together (although Will insisted he leave on the Saturday night and returned the Sunday morning) eating junk food and playing with her kid all day. She was worried that there was only so many times Will could tolerate building block towers or hours of _Thomas & Friends_ the man could endure but it seemed liked he loved it.

It was a domesticity she had never really been used to – but she absolutely loved it.

She couldn't help but smile when she looked at him, couldn't resist the warmth that she felt every time their eyes met. She loved how comfortable they were together, they way she felt when he held her, how amazing their kisses were.

Her flow of thought was interrupted by their waitress dropping their bill on their table. Will, finishing off the last of his breakfast, was quick to snatch it up. Nat raised her eyebrows as he choked down his last mouthful and cleared his throat.

"My treat."

"Will –" She started to protest.

"I suggested it." He smirked. "I need you sweet for my next request anyway." He winked at her before standing up. He ruffled Owen's already messy curls before wandering off to pay.

"I think you need a haircut buddy." Nat observed, trying to tidy up the boy's hair.

"Excuse me?"

Natalie looked up sharply to see an older woman on her way out of the diner had stopped at their table.

"I hope you don't mind me bothering you – I just wanted to say, you guys make a beautiful family." The older woman smiled and nodded. "Have a lovely day."

Natalie didn't know quite what to say, so she smiled and thanked the woman. _You have a beautiful family_. Well, she supposed that anyone looking in on them would assume that's what they were. A family – mom, dad, son. She looked up at Will, strolling back towards her with a bright smile on his face and decided that she didn't really mind – because he was gorgeous and her son was adorable. So, it wasn't a completely incorrect statement – and who knew? Maybe one day that's exactly what they would be.

God she was getting a bit ahead of herself.

"Ready to make a move?" Will asked as he returned to the table.

"Definitely, I'm exhausted." Nat nodded. "Come on, I'll drive you back home."

**CM**

The drive back was quiet, Owen was playing contentedly with some toys in the back and Nat and Will were happy to sit in amiable silence until they drew up in front of Jay and Erin's building.

"Thanks for breakfast." Nat smiled.

"Anytime." Will grinned in response, leaning across to pull her into a kiss. He could feel the electricity race through him and he had to stop himself groaning at the feel of her hands sliding into his hair.

"It was a really good idea." Natalie sighed as they pulled apart. "I already feel so much better."

"I'm full of those." Will couldn't wipe the smile from his face. "Good ideas I mean. Speaking of," he cleared his throat. "Not that I haven't loved every moment we've spent together the past few weeks, and not that that I don't adore your son, but I was thinking, well, I was hoping that you'd like to go out for dinner with me? Just the two of us?"

Natalie bit back a smile. "I'd love to. When should I arrange a sitter for?"

"I was thinking, maybe Friday?" He was almost being shy.

"I'm actually Owen free this weekend. So, that's perfect." Nat smiled brightly this time. Seeing Will look slightly confused she offered an explanation. "Helen's ex-husband is in town for the weekend so she's taking Owen to see him, they're going out for dinner Friday night and I think they're taking him out Saturday and Sunday, no idea what they plan on doing with him though."

"So, I could have you all weekend then?" Will smirked.

"I mean, it's an option." Natalie responded coyly. "But I wouldn't want to impose on any other plans you might have."

"Trust me, you would be doing no such thing." He kissed her again, briefly this time. "So, Friday then?"

Natalie smiled brightly, her lips burning from his kiss. "Friday."

 **Ohhhhh, wonder how the date will go?**

 **Any suggestions?**

 **Let me know it the reviews!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey everyone! Thank you so much for all the reviews/follows/favourites that have come in since my last update and for sticking with this story.**

 **I had big plans to get stuck in during my Christmas break and get a lot of writing done but it just never happened and 2018 has been a whirlwind already. Cannot believe it's almost March and a year since I started writing this! I hope you decided to stick with it because I intend to wrap it up v soon.**

 **WARNING: This chapter should be M rated but I didn't want to change the rating for the whole story.**

 **Hope you enjoy – let me know in the reviews/private messages!**

"So, any big plans for tonight?"

Natalie stiffened, pausing for the briefest of seconds as she packed Owen's overnight bag. She almost felt like it was a test.

"Will and I are going out for dinner." She replied as coolly as she could. "Y'know, we haven't really had the chance to properly talk about this."

"Oh we don't have –"

"Yes." Natalie interrupted. "Yes we do – but only to make a few things clear. I will never, ever forget Jeff, we had an incredible 5 years together, he gave me my son, and I couldn't be more grateful. But he's gone Helen and I don't want to live the rest of my life alone, I don't want Owen to grow up and leave me with nothing other than my job to keep me sane and I don't want him growing up without a father figure in his life because he deserves one. So, trust me when I tell you that I did not bring Will into his life on a whim, I really believe that he and can make this work." She took a breath. "I want it to work but I also want you to know that Will is never going to replace Jeff, I'm never going to erase him from Owen's life – but I need you to accept that Will is, hopefully, going to be a big part of his life. I want you to be okay with that."

After several minutes of silence, Helen finally looked up. "I don't want Owen to grow up without a father either – and if you think that the best person to make you both happy is Will then I'll accept it. I will try my best with it but, it might," she inhaled deeply, "it might take need some time."

Natalie smiled. "Thank you Helen – for trying." She zipped closed the little rucksack on the table and smacked her hands onto the tabletop. "So, when are you bringing him back?"

Their first Owen-free date had been a resounding success. They'd had dinner at a fancy, and altogether too expensive, French restaurant over which they'd talked about the hospital, their friends at the hospital, journal articles they'd read, they'd discussed sport (mainly baseball and hockey) and even attempted to plan where they would go on their next childless date night, as the cab drove them back to Natalie's apartment.

"I've had a really good night, Nat." He's smiling and tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. And she's smiling back as they both edge towards each other, lips meeting for a slow, gentle kiss.

"Me too." Nat returns, grazing her nose against his, pressing closer, inviting him further in.

"We should definitely do this again - I know Erin would love to take Owen for us."

Us. It sent shivers down her spine.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead before moving to extricate himself from the tangle of limbs on her couch. He'd only intended to stay for a half hour, share a glass of wine with her before kissing her goodnight and retreating (respectfully) back to Jay's. But it was almost two hours later and they were still curled on the couch. "I should probably go."

Natalie froze momentarily. Four dates was still quite early - but they'd managed to navigate through both their complicated pasts, her mother in law _and_ baby son. She knew him well enough to know that he was too much of a gentleman to make the first move so soon but given everything that had happened she didn't want to hold back.

So, as he made to leave, she pressed more firmly against him, sliding her arms around his neck and pushing him into the corner of the couch, pressing her mouth to his.

The distraction allowed her to get a knee on either side of him, straddling him. They broke apart, slightly breathless, lips swollen. Natalie's eyes were dark as she pressed her torso against his. "Stay."

Fuck. How did she manage to straddle him?

And then they were making out, deeper and with intent, and as she ground herself purposefully into him he knew that if she kept this up, his restraint would falter.

"Natalie," he groaned, "Mhmm, Nat, _Nat,_ if you keep doing that I'm not going to be able to stop."

She pulled away grinning, her eyes glittering. "What if I don't want you to stop?"

He pulled back slightly, moving his hands to push her hair from her face. "You sure?"

 _Ever the gentleman._ She had to admit, it was more than a bit of a turn on.

"William, I have never been more sure." She kissed him slow and deep. "I want this. I want you."

Fuck. He was gonna lose it.

"You have no idea how long I've waited to hear you say that."

Nat squealed as Will's arms tightened around her and he stood up, taking her with him.

"Despite that, our first time together will not be on the couch." Balancing her carefully he teased a hand along her thigh. "I want to do this properly."

"Well then Dr Halstead," Natalie grinned, "take me to bed."

He carried her carefully to her room, pressing kisses to her lips and neck as he did, enjoying the vibration of her moans against his lips. Once in her bedroom, he placed her back on the ground before turning her around and pulling her flush against his back. He pulled her hair to one side, sliding the straps of her dress from her shouldesr and brought his lips to her bare skin, trailing kisses slowly up her neck.

"Will, mhhhmmm, that's nice."

"You sure?" He checked again.

"Yes Will, please, don't stop." She exhaled heavily as he sucked at the sensitive skin at the junction of her neck and shoulder. She tried and failed to suppress a moan, but the feel of his lips was so good.

"Nat." Her name was a whisper on the back of her neck. She felt his hand on her zipper, felt the cool evening air pouring in from the open window against her skin as he inched the dress open. Natalie grinned at the sound his groan as he realised she'd gone bra-less. Hands on her waist, pulled her tight against him, ground himself against her. "Do you have any idea what you do to me?" She was about to tell him she could feel it when his hands moved to her shoulders, pushing the straps off her arms, allowing the dress to pool at her ankles. Turning her slowly, he took her by the hands as she stepped out of the dress towards him. Her dark hair was cascading over one shoulder and she was naked but for her panties. He couldn't help but grin as he drank in her toned belly and thighs, the curve her breasts; he reached out a hand, gently tracing the silvery ghost of a stretch mark with his fingertips. Their eyes met and for the first time she looked almost nervous - yet, with his next words, her fears were gone. "You're so beautiful Natalie."

Wordlessly she pressed herself against him, kissing him hard on the mouth as she set to work on the buttons of his shirt, ripping the bottom out from where it was tucked into his jeans. It was a hard-fought battle to keep her focus, especially as his hands were all over her. One hand in her and the other toying with a nipple, Will smirked as he elicited a moan from her. But with him distracted Natalie was free to work on his belt, within seconds his jeans were at his ankles and he was freed from the confines of his boxers.

Will groaned as Natalie wrapped a hand around him and kissed him hard on the mouth, she couldn't help but think he was a lot more than she'd expected.

Distracted, he couldn't react fast enough to stop her dropping to her knees.

"You don't -"

"I want to."

And then she took him in her mouth.

She'd barley got started when he was pulling her off.

"Nat, Natalie I'm not gonna last if you keep doing that." He groaned as she bobbed her head along his shaft one more time. "Please Nat, I want you."

He shuddered involuntarily as she flicked her eyes up to meet his, lips still wrapped around him.

She stood back up again slowly, cocking an eyebrow. Waiting to see what he did next.

Will tucked a stray hair behind her ear and walked her backwards till she met her bed.

"Lay down."

Obediently Natalie, sat down and scooted herself up the bed, holding her breath as he moved over her. He pressed a reverent kiss just below her belly button before gently pulling off her underwear, leaving her fully bare.

She sighed as he trailed a hand up her body, traced the curve of her breast.

He brought his lips to a nipple, as he reached between her legs, finding her soaked. The groaned in unison.

"Jesus Nat."

"I told you I wanted this."

"You weren't kidding."

She looked him in the eyes. "So what are you waiting for?"

"In my wallet -"

"I've got it covered." Nat reassured. "So long as your good?"

"Of course."

"Well then." He chuckled at the smirk on her face. "Let's go." She teacher up and pulled his lips down to meet hers in a heated kiss. It gave him time to consider the fact that he'd never actually trusted another woman to "have it covered", not even Nina. He fleetingly considered going for a condom anyway but the thought was gone as quick as it appeared.

This was Natalie, he trusted he implicitly.

"Please Will." She moaned against his lips. "I want you."

She reached between them and guided him with a gentle a hand, taking her cue he pressed forwards.

Natalie inhaled sharply as he pushed inside her. "Will, oh my god, Will."

He was scared to speak, for a moment he focused on catching his breath, slowing his heart rate, to make sure he didn't lose it there and then.

She felt so good.

"You feel so good." Natalie moaned in agreement.

Bringing his lips down to meet hers, he began to move.

He lost himself completely in the feel of her, the way it felt to be in her, the way his skin burned as her hands caressed his chest and back and wandered down, how much closer they got when she wrapped her legs around his waist. He groaned between kisses and was so distracted that he wasn't ready for the moment Nat dug her heels into his back and flipped them.

Natalie laughed at the shocked look on his face, shaking her hair out of her face. "This okay?" 

"Absolutely perfect." Will shuddered, hands grasping her hips as she started to move again. With Nat in control, the pace was faster, more purposeful. He could feel a familiar tightening of his muscles and he tightened his grip on her in attempts to slow the pace. "Nat, I'm so close, you need to slow down."

"Can't." She gasped out, tilting her head back. "Me too."

Moments later they fell, almost in perfect sync.

 **Thank you so much for getting to the end of another chapter – please, please leave reviews! I want to know what your thoughts are!**

 **Ps – the next chapter will involve swimming with a certain toddler.**


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